West Texas A&M is the top choice in the 2019-20 Lone Star Conference men’s basketball preseason poll announced on Tuesday.
The league’s preseason polls reflect the opinions of LSC head coaches, sports information directors and various media representatives throughout the region.
WT earned the top spot in the poll with 826 total points including 27 of the 48 first-place votes. The Buffs were 34-4 in 2018-19 and advanced to the NCAA Division II Elite Eight for the second straight season after claiming another South Central Region title.
The Buffs were followed by LSC newcomer St. Edward’s who earned the second spot in the preseason poll with 790 total points including 14 first-place votes. The Hilltoppers bring back a number of pieces from a team that went 30-4 last season and advanced to the region final for the first time in program history.
Texas A&M-Commerce was picked third in the poll with 703 total points and one first-place vote. The Lions were 24-9 a season ago and advanced to the South Central Regional for the third consecutive year.
Tarleton landed in fourth in the preseason poll racking up 695 points and a pair of first-place votes. The Texans went 21-10 last season under first-year head coach Chris Reisman.
Angelo State rounded out the top five in the poll earning 687 total points and two first-place votes. The Rams were 21-9 a year ago and advanced to the South Central Regional for the first time since 2015-16.
DBU earned the sixth spot in the poll with 642 points and one first-place vote. The Patriots were 23-11 last season and made their second consecutive regional appearance.
Lubbock Christian (558 points), UT Permian Basin (508), Eastern New Mexico (484) and Texas A&M-Kingsville (423) to round out the top 10 in the preseason poll.
Tarleton senior Josh Hawley and St. Edward’s senior Ashton Spears were named LSC Co-Preseason Players of the Year with both earning 15 of the 48 votes.
Hawley led the Texans in scoring in 2018-19 with 17.3 points per game which ranked second in the LSC. The Irving native also led the conference in rebounds per game (6.9), total rebounds (297) and field goal percentage (.576).
Spears returns after leading the Hilltoppers in scoring with 19.0 points per game which ranked second in the Heartland Conference in 2018-19. The Independence, La. native also led the Hilltoppers and the Heartland in steals per game with 2.5.
The LSC has 18 teams set for the season which begins in early November. LSC teams will play a double round-robin schedule against the five opponents within their division and a single round-robin schedule against the remaining 12 conference teams.
The LSC division champions will be determined by regular season games within the division, while the postseason tournament winner will be named the LSC Champion and earn the conference’s automatic qualification to the NCAA Division II Tournament. Twelve teams will qualify for the postseason tournament with opening round games on campus followed by the final eight teams at the Comerica Center in Frisco, Texas.
2019-20 LSC Men's Basketball Preseason Poll
| Rank |
Team |
1st |
Total |
| 1 |
West Texas A&M |
27 |
826 |
| 2 |
St. Edward's |
14 |
790 |
| 3 |
Texas A&M-Commerce |
1 |
703 |
| 4 |
Tarleton |
2 |
695 |
| 5 |
Angelo State |
2 |
687 |
| 6 |
DBU |
1 |
642 |
| 7 |
Lubbock Christian |
|
558 |
| 8 |
UT Permian Basin |
|
508 |
| 9 |
Eastern New Mexico |
|
484 |
| 10 |
Texas A&M-Kingsville |
|
423 |
| 11 |
UAFS |
1 |
340 |
| 12 |
Midwestern State |
|
327 |
| 13 |
St. Mary's |
|
305 |
| T-14 |
Cameron |
|
251 |
| T-14 |
Oklahoma Christian |
|
251 |
| 16 |
UT Tyler |
|
148 |
| 17 |
Texas A&M International |
|
120 |
| 18 |
Western New Mexico |
|
102 |