Wes Clark and the Missouri Tigers play an exhibition game with Missouri Western on Nov. 6th (file photo)
Kentucky was predicted to win the 2016 Southeastern Conference men’s basketball championship in voting by a select panel of both SEC and national media members. The Wildcats are the overall preseason favorite for the 11th time since the 1998-99 season.
LSU freshman Ben Simmons was the choice of the media for SEC Men’s Basketball Player of the Year. Simmons becomes just the second freshman chosen as preseason player of the year by the media, joining Kentucky’s Julius Randle in 2013-14. Florida’s Dorrian Finney-Smith, Kentucky’s Tyler Ulis, Texas A&M’s Danuel House and Vanderbilt’s Damian Jones also received votes in the Player of the Year voting.
Points were compiled on a 14-13-12-11-10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis. The 2015-16 conference play begins January 2. The 2016 SEC Tournament will be March 9-13 at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn.
1. Kentucky 406
2. Vanderbilt 357
3. Texas A&M 344
4. LSU 333
5. Georgia 266
6. Florida 258
7. South Carolina 204
8. Mississippi State 203
9. Ole Miss 184
10. Auburn 168
11. Arkansas 118
12. Tennessee 86
13. Alabama 85
14. Missouri 33
Mizzou Women’s Basketball was selected to finish seventh in the Southeastern Conference by a select panel of SEC and national media members in the preseason poll released on Tuesday. Robin Pingeton’s squad received 165 total points for the highest preseason ranking the program has notched since joining the SEC. On Wednesday, the SEC Women’s Basketball Coaches Poll will be released.
Mizzou has recorded three straight winning seasons for the first time since 1987-90. With 19 victories in 2014-15, the Tigers posted the highest win total for the program since the 2005-06 campaign. Mizzou advanced to the quarterfinals of the WNIT, and the two postseason victories were the most for the program since 2002-03.
Last season, Mizzou led the SEC in field goal percentage defense (35.1) and defensive rebounds per game (29.0), ranking 12th and 17th in the nation in those respective categories. The Tigers also led the SEC with 249 baskets from 3-point range, which was 49 more than any other team in the league and good for an average of 7.5 per game, ranking 31st nationally. The 2015 recruiting class was ranked as high as No. 14 in the nation by Prospects Nation, marking the highest ranking in team history and includes the program’s first McDonald’s All-American.
South Carolina was picked by the media to win the conference with 265 points, edging second-place Tennessee with 248 points. Senior guard Tiffany Mitchell of South Carolina was selected to repeat as SEC Player of the Year.