Hawkeye women receive zero votes in preseason Associated Press poll
The Iowa Hawkeyes received zero votes and are officially unranked in the preseason Associated Press poll, which was released Tuesday morning.
Four Big Ten Conference teams did get votes. Maryland comes in at No. 6, immediately followed by Ohio State. Returning all significant pieces from their first NCAA Tournament berth in 14 years, the Indiana Hoosiers sit at No. 23.
Michigan State is the first team in the "others receiving votes category," with its 78 votes good for 26th place and 17 votes shy of No. 25 Oregon State.
Notre Dame, which Iowa will host Nov. 30, ranks No. 1 in the preseason poll for the first time in 15 years. Baylor is No. 2, UConn is at No. 3, South Carolina sits at No. 4 and Louisville rounds out the top five.
Pac-12 Conference favorite UCLA is No. 9. The Hawkeyes will play the Bruins on Nov. 24 in the 2016 Cancun Challenge. Iowa might also play South Dakota State Nov. 20 in the second round of the Hawkeye Challenge, and the Jackrabits come in at No. 36 with five votes.
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Then Iowa State, which the Hawkeyes will host Dec. 7, is tied for 43rd with one vote.
Iowa tied for 45th in the preseason USA TODAY Coaches Poll, which was released last Thursday. The Hawkeyes received three votes, along with BYU.
Iowa tied for 45th in women's preseason USA TODAY Coaches Poll
The Big Ten as a whole also fared better in that poll, with seven teams receiving votes: Iowa, Northwestern, Michigan, Michigan State, Indiana, Ohio State and Maryland.
Conference coaches and media members picked Maryland and Ohio State to finish 1-2 in the preseason Big Ten top three, which was released Oct. 24. The media pegged Indiana at No. 3 in its rankings, while the Hoosiers tied with Michigan State for third in the coaches' rankings.
Iowa hosts an exhibition against Lewis University Nov. 6 at 2 p.m., and it opens the regular season at home against Oral Roberts Nov. 11 at 6 p.m.
Matthew Bain covers Iowa women's hoops for HawkCentral, the Iowa City Press-Citizen and Des Moines Register. Contact him at mbain@gannett.com or follow him on Twitter @MatthewBain_.