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MEDIA DAY PRESEASON POLL:
- Stony Brook
- Vermont
- New Hampshire
- Hartford
- UMBC
- UMass Lowell
- Albany
- NJIT
- Maine
- Binghamton
COMMENTS FROM DAVID:
-Stony Brook was just 7-9 in league play last year and won just 9 games overall, but they were pegged as the preseason favorites this year. I’m not sure that’s who I would have voted for, but with four starters returning along with six new transfers the expectations are high. They were a terrible shooting team last year so if they can improve on that it would be a huge step in the right direction.
-Vermont seems to always be at or near the top of this league, and with four starters back from a team that tied for 1st place the expectations are again high. Ryan Davis returns as one of the best players in the conference and he’ll have a pretty good supporting cast around him.
-New Hampshire also has some good experience returning with four starters back. This program struggled a year ago, but they still managed a 3rd place finish and have some key pieces back this year. They have two guys that can score in the frontcourt in Jayden Martinez and Nick Guadarrama and a really good guard in transfer Marco Foster, so the Wildcats have something going this year.
-Hartford is the Team of the People!! We’ve already named them so they’re going on top! This is a team that won the conference tournament last year and made the NCAAs for the first time ever. It’s also a program that may be transitioning down to div3 if the leadership at the head of the university gets their way. Their stated reasons for wanting to transition down are questionable at best and there has been a huge groundswell of support around this program. They have also made huge strides in recent years and could be in position to take another big step forward this year. With three starters back and some strong transfers coming in we could see this team back in The Dance this March!
-UMBC has some rebuilding to do after a first place tie last year. They also have a new coach in Jim Ferry, who has some big shoes to fill after Ryan Odom left for Utah State. The Retrievers have had a good run over the past several seasons, but they look to be rebuilding this year.
-UMass Lowell had a so-so season last year where they finished 7-8 in league play. They’ve got three starters back and some key transfers so we may see some improvement out of this team this year.
-Albany has had their roster overhauled. Just one starter is back and while they have added some transfers they may have trouble keeping up with the top half of the league.
-NJIT has had a rough couple of years, and could be in for another rough year this year. They’ll look to get some production out of three returning starters and some of the transfers that they’ve added.
-Maine and Binghamton are typically at the bottom of the league and that’s where they’re likely to end up this year as well.