Simon Fraser University was pegged 17th in the NCAA by USA Today Sports in a Division II coaches poll on Tuesday.
The Clan women's basketball team was picked to finish second in the Great Northwest conference in pre-season polling.
SFU is currently off to a 4-1 start, putting its first loss of the season behind it with a 74-52 win over Dixie State College last Saturday.
It was the Clan's largest margin of victory this season and came one day after a 62-45 road loss to Colorado Mesa University in St. George, Utah.
"We had a lot more energy to start the game today," said Clan head coach Bruce Langford in a school press release. "We were strong defensively and while we didn't shoot the ball great as a team, we improved from yesterday."
Erin Chambers led the Clan with 17 points, while Chelsea Reist and Kia Van Laare had 13 and 12 points, respectively.
Nayo Raincock-Ekunwe had a team-high nine rebounds and five of the squad's 15 steals.
On Friday, Raincock-Ekunwe was the only Clan shooter in double figures with 14 points and nine boards.
SFU shot just 34 per cent from the floor as a team and was a dismal 19 per cent shooting from beyond the arc.
Early in the second half, Rebecca Langmead cut the Colorado lead to four points with a jump shot, but that sparked a 14-2 reply and SFU never threatened after that.
SFU will play its first Division II home game as a full fledged member of the NCAA on Friday against Cal State Stanislaus at the West Gym. The two teams play a second game on Saturday. Tip-off for both games is at 7 p.m.
