Westerville, OH-Mount Union men and Marietta women have been tabbed as the favorites in preseason voting by the Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) basketball coaches.
Mount Union tallied 77 points (five first-place votes) in the men's coaches' poll, followed by Marietta with 74 points (four first-place vote), John Carroll with 61 points, Heidelberg with 56 points and Otterbein with 50 points.
Last season, Mount Union went 23-5-0 (14-3-0 OAC) and reached the OAC Tournament Finals as the No. 2 seed. The Purple Raiders are under the direction of 12th-year Head Coach Mike Fuline and are ranked seventh in the D3hoops.com Preseason Top-25. The Raiders open the season against Whitworth on November 11 at 7 p.m.
On the women's side, Marietta tallied 79 points (seven first-place votes), followed by Baldwin Wallace with 75 points ( three place votes), Otterbein with 62 points, Ohio Northern with 53 points and John Carroll with 49 points.
Last season, Marietta went 22-6 (14-4 OAC) and clinched the No. 3 seed in the OAC Tournament. The Pioneers are led by seventh year Head Coach Kole Vivian and are ranked 19th in the D3hoops.com Preseason Top-25. The Pioneers open the season at home on November 8 against Washington & Jefferson College with tipoff at 7 p.m.
|
Rank |
Women |
Pts. (1st Place Votes) |
Rank |
Men |
Pts. (1st Place Votes) |
|
1. |
Marietta |
79 (7) |
1. |
Mount Union |
77 (5) |
|
2. |
Baldwin Wallace |
75 (3) |
2. |
Marietta |
74 (4) |
|
3. |
Otterbein |
62 |
3. |
John Carroll |
61 (1) |
|
4. |
Ohio Northern |
53 |
4. |
Heidelberg |
56 |
|
5. |
John Carroll |
49 |
5. |
Otterbein |
50 |
|
6. |
Mount Union |
40 |
6. |
Baldwin Wallace |
41 |
|
7. |
Wilmington |
32 |
7. |
Capital |
36 |
|
8. |
Capital |
24 |
8. |
Ohio Northern |
26 |
|
9. |
Muskingum |
22 |
9. |
Wilmington |
17 |
|
10. |
Heidelberg |
14 |
10. |
Muskingum |
12 |