News Nuggets, 11.12.03
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Compiled from staff reports and electronic dispatches

Billikens bolt on heels of 49ers

Saint Louis accepted an invitation Tuesday to join the Atlantic 10 for the 2005-06 season, becoming the second school in two days to announce a move to the A-10.

The Billikens' announcement comes just one day after Charlotte declared that it will join the conference for the 2005-06 season. Both schools have been members of Conference USA since its inception in 1995.

The 49ers and Billikens are the latest in a series of schools to flee their conferences. The shakeups have been a domino effect since the ACC pried Miami and Virginia Tech from the Big East in a high-profile move this year.

"Saint Louis meets all of the goals our presidents and athletic directors established for expansion," Atlantic 10 commissioner Linda Bruno stated. "When this process began, we all believed it was important to identify institutions which met our criteria of possessing strong commitments to academic and athletic excellence. Saint Louis does that and more."

The announcement by Bruno came just three days after C-USA added Central Florida, Marshall, Rice, SMU and Tulsa to replace departed members Cincinnati, Louisville, Marquette, DePaul and South Florida, which fled to the Big East.

The Billikens' men's basketball program has qualified for postseason play in six of the past 10 years. That stretch includes four NCAA Tournaments and two NIT bids.

"Saint Louis University is honored and excited to have been invited to join the Atlantic 10 Conference. We look forward to joining the other outstanding A-10 universities which share our same commitment to support and nurture students' abilities, both on the playing fields and in the classroom," said Saint Louis president Lawrence Biondi, S.J. "SLU is delighted to accept the invitation and I know this will be a positive move for all of our athletic teams and for our university."

The A-10 currently includes the University of Dayton, Duquesne, Fordham, George Washington, La Salle, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Richmond, St. Bonaventure, Saint Joseph's, Temple and Xavier.

Revived Clemson takes lesson to heart

CLEMSON — It's all different at Clemson. Gone is the disgust after a 45-17 loss to Wake Forest. A victory over Florida State in the Bowden Bowl can do wonders.

``You were embarrassed to wear your Clemson football T-shirt,'' receiver Tony Elliott said. ``Now, people who have never talked to you before in class come up and say, 'Good job.'''

Clemson beat then-No. 3 Florida State 26-10 last weekend.

The next task for coach Tommy Bowden and the Tigers (6-4, 4-3 ACC) is Saturday's game against last-place Duke (3-7, 1-5).

This was Clemson's first victory over the Seminoles in 11 games. Bowden set the tone when he told his players in the locker room at Wake Forest, ``I fully intend to beat FSU.''

``Probably on the bus ride home, they were thinking about that,'' Bowden said. ``This time at three in the morning, they weren't thinking about Duke.''

So Bowden got them thinking about the Blue Devils, who won their first ACC game in four years with a 41-17 victory over Georgia Tech last week.

Clemson has won four straight in the series, its last loss coming in the final season of former coach Tommy West in 1998. As Bobby Bowden said in the aftermath of his team's Death Valley defeat, ``You're not going to beat teams forever.''

That's what his son hopes to guard against.

The scene on the field Saturday night was as joyous as any for Clemson. The Tigers had never beaten a top 3 team _ Nebraska was ranked No. 4 in the 1982 Orange Bowl — and fans chanted, ``Tommy!, Tommy!'' as they tore down the goal posts and paraded them out of Memorial Field.

``There are so many plusses here when things are right,'' Bowden said. ``And that night, things were right.''

Bowden has four years left on his contract that pays at least $1.1 million a year. He wouldn't talk about his name in connection with any job vacancies.

AP PreseasonTop 25 Basketball Poll

The top 25 teams in The Associated Press' men's preseason college basketball poll, with first-place votes in parentheses, 2002-03 records, total points based on 25 points for a first-place vote through one point for a 25th-place vote and last season's final ranking:

[Note: Conference USA and Carolinas teams are denoted in bold.]

Rank / Team / Record Pts Pv
1. Connecticut (67) 23-10 1,793 23
2. Duke (3) 26-7 1,667 7
3. Michigan State (1) 22-13 1,607 _
4. Arizona 28-4 1,476 2
5. Missouri 22-11 1,436 24
6. Kansas (1) 30-8 1,396 6
7. Syracuse 30-5 1,311 13
8. Florida 25-8 1,219 10
9. North Carolina 19-16 1,139 _
10. Gonzaga 24-9 1,125 _
11. Kentucky 32-4 1,092 1
12. Texas 26-7 1,083 5
13. Illinois 25-7 941 11
14. Oklahoma 27-7 822 3
15. Wisconsin 24-8 715 21
16. Louisville 25-7 623 14
17. Saint Joseph's 23-7 579 _
18. Cincinnati 17-12 578 _
19. Stanford 24-9 555 18
20. Wake Forest 25-6 458 8
21. Notre Dame 24-10 429 22
22. Pittsburgh 28-5 382 4
23. Marquette 27-6 155 9
24. N.C. State 18-13 120 _
25. Oklahoma State 22-10 93 _

Others receiving votes: Maryland 77, California 71, Oregon 70, Xavier 68, Ohio State 46, Utah 39, LSU 33, Auburn 32, BYU 25, Colorado 16, Arizona State 13, Providence 13, Purdue 13, Memphis 12, UCLA 12, Mississippi State 9, Southern Cal 8, Michigan 7, Temple 7, Butler 6, Indiana 6, Manhattan 5, Georgia 3, Illinois-Chicago 3, Northern Illinois 3, Nevada 3, Wichita State 3, Dayton 1, Seton Hall 1, Vermont 1.

News Nuggets are compiled periodically from staff, ECU, Conference USA and its member schools, and from Associated Press and other reports. Copyright 2003 Bonesville.net and other publishers. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Page Updated: 02/23/2007