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Villanova ranked sixth in preseason poll

Last season, Villanova - coming off a Final Four appearance but with six new players added to the rotation - started No. 5 in the Associated Press (media) poll. The Wildcats got off to a program-best 20-1 start and got as high as second before hitting a wall. They eventually lost as a two seed in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, after almost losing the opener. It was only the second time in 6 years that they hadn't made it to the second week of the Madness.

Last season, Villanova - coming off a Final Four appearance but with six new players added to the rotation - started No. 5 in the Associated Press (media) poll. The Wildcats got off to a program-best 20-1 start and got as high as second before hitting a wall. They eventually lost as a two seed in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, after almost losing the opener. It was only the second time in 6 years that they hadn't made it to the second week of the Madness.

Now, a Wildcats team that lost the face of the program in Scottie Reynolds has been ranked sixth before playing a game.

You were expecting maybe Honorable Mention?

"It always feels good right now," said coach Jay Wright yesterday at the Wells Fargo Center, where his squad practiced in preparation for Tuesday's exhibition against the University of District of Columbia, the first of eight times it will play there. "It's something we're starting to, I hope, learn how to deal with. I think last year, we learned a lot from being in this position without earning it. I'm real interested to see how we handle it this year.

"I think it was [a burden] last year, even though we tried not to let it, just because we were young and hadn't been through it before. I don't know what we were the year before [No. 23], but we knew we had a good team, with [three] veterans. So I think this group understands that while it's nice for the school and the fans, we still have a lot of work to do. We haven't earned it yet."

He has three seniors, led by guard Corey Fisher, who figures to assume Reynolds' role. He also has a healthy Mouphtaou Yarou in the post, which gives him a presence he hasn't had in a while. And other young guys, such as Maalik Wayns and Dominic Cheek, are a year wiser. Two newcomers, power forward JayVaughn Pinkston and James Bell, should help, although Bell might not contribute much until January or so while he recovers from stress fractures in both legs.

"I think it's going to be a good year for us," said Fisher, who averaged 13 points a game last season after winning the Big East's Sixth Man of the Year award as a soph. "As long as we can learn from [last year], that's in the past. We have to move forward. That will make us a better team.

"To a lot of people, rankings are a big thing. We try not to pay attention to that. We could lose two or three games and fall out of the Top 10 or not be ranked. That's when everybody will be writing, 'What happened to Villanova?' And when you're winning, [it's] 'Oh, Villanova's looking good.' It's 50-50. We just got to keep playing. You've got to have a good attitude. You're going to win some games and lose some. I think everyone understands that.

"Of course, no one wants to lose in the tournament. It's that feeling you get watching the games, knowing you came up short. You just have that feeling. Yo, we should have been there. When you lose early, it prepares you for next year. The next year's here. We can't wait to get started."

Even if it's how you finish that everyone remembers.