“That’s what you work so hard for,” MSU head coach Suzy Merchant said of the preseason ranking. “I feel like I’ve worked really hard to earn this opportunity, and I’m not going to shy away from expectations because I certainly have them of myself.”

A finish near the top of the Big Ten isn’t the only expectation surrounding the Spartans, as MSU has been ranked in almost all of the nation’s top preseason polls, including as high as No. 13 in the CBS Sportsline.com/Basketball News Top 25 poll.

Sophomore center Allyssa DeHaan said high expectations of having a successful season are on the minds of the Spartan players.

“We just don’t want to be a competitive team, we want to win,” DeHaan said. “But preseason polls don’t mean anything. It’s about who practices and who’s improving the most.”

The 6-foot-9 DeHaan was selected to the Preseason All-Big Ten Media Team along with Illinois guard Lori Bjork, Ohio State forward Star Allen, Ohio State guard Marscilla Packer and Wisconsin guard Jolene Anderson, who was selected as the preseason player of the year.

After Ohio State and MSU, Wisconsin was picked to finish third in the media poll.

The Badgers were voted to finish second in the preseason coaches’ poll behind the Buckeyes, while MSU was picked to finish fourth.

While the two polls differed in ranking the teams two through nine, Ohio State was selected to finish first in both polls.