Basketball teams picked second, 11th in PBC polls

(10/13/00) The Kennesaw State University women's basketball team is picked to finish in second place in the Peach Belt Conference this year while the men's squad is ranked 11th, according to preseason polls of the PBC head coaches.

The Lady Owls received 98 points in the women's poll, trailing only Columbus State (121 points, 11 first-place votes), an NCAA Division II Final Four team last season. The Kennesaw State women return just three letterwinners, including two starters, from last year's 25-5 squad. In 1999-2000, KSU won the PBC regular season championship (14-2 record) before advancing to the NCAA Tournament for the third time in the past four campaigns. The Lady Owls were rated No. 15 in the final USA Today/Women's Basketball Coaches Association poll last year.

In the men's conference poll, the Fighting Owls tallied 31 points while Armstrong Atlantic claimed the top spot with 120 points, including 10 first-place votes. The Kennesaw State men have seven lettermen, including two starters, back from last season's 14-11 team, along with a player who was a part-time starter in 1998-99.

The KSU women's team, under sixth-year head coach Colby Tilley, will begin its upcoming campaign by hosting the annual Ron Walker Memorial Tournament on November 17-18.

The Fighting Owls, with first-year head coach Tony Ingle at the helm, will open their season at the Paine College Hall of Fame Classic in Augusta, Ga., the same weekend.