Tarleton State is favored by a slim margin in the 2012-13 Lone Star Conference men’s basketball preseason poll announced Thursday.
The league's preseason polls reflect the opinions of LSC head coaches and sports information directors, plus various media representatives from throughout the region.
Tarleton edged Midwestern State for the No. 1 spot by seven points, as both teams earned 12 first-place votes each, for totals of 269 and 262, respectively. The Texans and Mustangs shared last year’s championship with identical 15-3 league records.
West Texas A&M was third with 246 points and four top votes, Incarnate Word fourth (166), and Cameron fifth (139).
Texas A&M-Kingsville was sixth (130), Abilene Christian seventh (112), Angelo State eighth (95 and one first-place vote), Texas A&M-Commerce ninth (91) and Eastern New Mexico tenth (85).
Furthermore, WTAMU’s Donald Sims was tabbed as Preseason Player of the Year. Sims was the popular choice with votes on 25 of the 29 ballots. The remaining four votes were split amongst four other players.
Sims, a senior from Chester, S.C., led the Buffs in scoring (14.1) and rebounding (9.3) last season. He also led the league in rebounds en route to LSC Newcomer of the Year and all-LSC second team acclaim.
The LSC has 10 teams set for this season and if the preseason poll is any indication the league race should be as tight as ever. The season begins November 9 with LSC teams playing a double round robin league schedule, in which each team plays a home and away contest against each of the other teams to determine the LSC champion.
The LSC champion will be the regular season winner determined by league games, while the postseason tournament winner is designated as LSC Tournament Champion and earns the conference’s automatic qualification. The top eight teams in the final conference standings qualify for the postseason tournament set for March 6-9 in Allen, Texas.
|
MEN’S BASKETBALL |
1st |
TOTAL |
|
1 |
Tarleton State |
12 |
269 |
|
2 |
Midwestern State |
12 |
262 |
|
3 |
West Texas A&M |
4 |
246 |
|
4 |
Incarnate Word |
|
166 |
|
5 |
Cameron |
|
139 |
|
6 |
Texas A&M-Kingsville |
|
130 |
|
7 |
Abilene Christian |
|
112 |
|
8 |
Angelo State |
1 |
95 |
|
9 |
Texas A&M-Commerce |
|
91 |
|
10 |
Eastern New Mexico |
|
85 |