Panthers picked to finish second in SCAC East Division
SUWANEE, Ga.—The Birmingham-Southern men's basketball team has been picked to finish second in the SCAC East Division Preseason Poll.
In exclusive balloting by the league's head coaches, Centre headlined the annual poll of head coaches and is favored to win the SCAC title. Head coach Greg Mason and his Colonels earned eight of 12 first place votes to go along with 118 points to easily take the top spot.
2012 SCAC tournament host Birmingham-Southern (108 points, 3 first place votes) looks to give Centre its toughest competition in the East. Rounding out the division was Oglethorpe University (72 points), Rhodes College (55 points), Millsaps College, which played in the West Division last year (43 points) and Sewanee (31 points).
The Panthers went 23-4 last season but were not yet eligible for postseason play. This season, BSC hosts the SCAC Championship (Feb. 24-26, 2012) after winning the SCAC regular season last year as well as the NCAA Division III Provisional Tournament.
BSC opens its season Tuesday, Nov. 15, on the road against Huntingdon College, and opens its home slate Friday, Nov. 18, against University of the Ozarks at 7 p.m. in Bill Battle Coliseum.
| 2011-12 SCAC Men's Basketball Preseason Poll | |||
| Eastern Division | No. of Votes | 2010-11 SCAC | 2010-11 Overall |
| 1. Centre College | 118 (8) | 13-3 | 21-6 |
| 2. Birmingham-Southern College | 108 (3) |
14-2 |
23-4 |
| 3. Oglethorpe University | 72 |
10-6 |
15-12 |
| 4. Rhodes College |
55 |
3-13 | 7-18 |
| 5. Millsaps College | 43 | 4-12 | 10-15 |
| 6. Sewanee: University of the South | 31 | 3-13 |
9-16 |
| Western Division | No. of Votes | 2010-11 SCAC | 2010-11 Overall |
| 1. Trinity University | 103 (1) |
11-5 | 16-11 |
| 2. Austin College | 82 | 7-9 |
12-14 |
| 3. Hendrix College | 72 |
5-11 |
10-16 |
| 4. Colorado College |
61 |
10-6 | 14-12 |
| 5. Southwestern University |
33 | 4-12 |
6-19 |
| 6. University fo Dallas |
13 |
*N/A | 4-23 |
Note: First-place votes (in parentheses) are worth 11 points, second place worth 10 points, on down to 11th-place votes being worth one point. Coaches voted for order of finish 1-11, but did not rank their own team. Results are displayed by division breakdown.
