LMU picked 3rd in SAC Basketball Men's Poll, Women picked 7th

The Catawba Indians received six first-place votes and 77 total points.
Catawba returns senior guard Antonio Houston, who has been the MVP of the conference tournament the last two years. Houston was named to the preseason All-Conference first team. Rob Fields, who averaged 15.9 points as Catawba's sixth man last year, joins Houston on the preseason All-Conference first team.
Tusculum College is picked to finish second in the coaches poll. The Pioneers received two first-place votes and 68 total points. Tusculum, which begins the season ranked sixth by the DII Basketball Bulletin preseason national poll, returns 2009 SAC Player of the Year and All- American Kyle Moore.
Moore was named to the preseason All-Conference first team, while forward Josh Bennett, who finished third in the league in rebounding last season, was named to the second team.
Lincoln Memorial University was picked to finish third. The Railsplitters received 63 total points.
Lincoln Memorial University starts the season with a pair of preseason All-Conference selections. D'Mario Curry, a first-team All-Conference pick last season after leading the Railsplitters in scoring, returns as a preseason first-team selection. Sophomore Desmond Johnson, who was named the SAC men's basketball Freshman of the Year last season after averaging 10.4 points and 6.2 rebounds, was named to the preseason All-Conference second team.
Lenoir-Rhyne University picked up the final first-place vote and received 58 total points for fourth place in the preseason poll. The Bears have won the last two regular-season championships, and five over the last seven years. During that span, the Bears have not finished lower than third in the conference standings.
Lenoir-Rhyne placed two returnees on the preseason All-Conference team. Forward D.J. Blackmon averaged 13.8 points last season and was named to the preseason All-Conference first team. Senior guard Marcus Hodges, who led the SAC last season in 3-point field goal percentage, was named to the second team.
Wingate University is the pick for fifth place in the coaches poll. The Bulldogs received 39 points.
Mars Hill College received 33 points for sixth place. The Lions placed a pair on the preseason All-Conference second team in senior guards Stoney Polite and Danny Sanders. Sanders averaged 16.8 points last season.
Carson-Newman College, which has led the league in scoring average the last two seasons, is the pick for seventh place. The Eagles received 30 points. Guard Jordan Dixon, who was fourth in the league in assists last season, was named to the prese ason All-Conference second team.
Brevard College comes in eighth in the poll with 24 points. The Tornados return senior forward Jonathan Whitson, a preseason All-Conference first-team selection. Last season, Whitson averaged 19.1 points and led the SAC in rebounding at 8.7 per game and was named All-Region by both the NABC and Daktronics.
Newberry College rounds out the poll with 13 points. Newberry, which finished tied for second last year, will be looking to rebuild under first-year coach Steve DeMeo and return just three players who saw playing time last year.
The 2009-10 season opens Sunday, November 15, with Wingate hosting Armstrong Atlantic State. Five more teams open play on Monday, November 16.
The 2010 Food Lion South Atlantic Conference tournament will begin on Wednesday, March 3 with quarterfinal games on campus sites. Winners advance to the semifinals on Saturday, March 6 at the Catawba Valley Community College Multipurpose Facility in Hickory, N.C. The championship game will be Sunday, March 7 at 2 p.m.
2009-10 Men's Coaches Preseason Poll
Poll (1st) Points
1. Catawba (6) 77
2. Tusculum (2) 68
3. LMU 63
4. Lenoir-Rhyne (1) 58
5. Wingate 39
6. Mars Hill 33
7. Carson-Newman 30
8. Brevard 24
9. Newberry 13
Men's Preseason All-Conference
FIRST TEAM
Jonathan Whitson, Brevard
Rob Fields, Catawba
Antonio Houston, Catawba
D.J. Blackmon, Lenoir-Rhyne
D'Mario Curry, LMU
Kyle Moore, Tusculum
SECOND TEAM
Jordan Dixon, Carson-Newman
Marcus Hodges, Lenoir-Rhyne
Desmond Johnson, LMU
Stoney Polite, Mars Hill
Danny Sanders, Mars Hill
Josh Bennett, Tusculum
Lady Railsplitters Picked Seventh In SAC Preseason Poll
Courtesy of the South Atlantic Conference
ROCK HILL, SC - Lenoir-Rhyne University, which won both the regular-season and Food Lion South Atlantic Conference women's basketball tournament titles, is the favorite to win the 2010 championship, in a poll of the league's head coaches.
The Bears, who return all five starters off last season's team that went 27-5, received eight first-place votes and 80 of a possible 81 points.
Lenoir-Rhyne also leads the way with three on the preseason All-Conference team. Senior center Denise Moore, the most valuable player of last year's conference tournament, is back after averaging 13.6 points and 7.1 rebounds last season. She is joined on the preseason first team by junior guard Amber Holt, a three-time first team All-Conference selection. Brittany Mitch was named to the preseason second team.
Carson-Newman College is picked to finish second. The Lady Eagles received one first-place vote and 70 total points.
Carson-Newman brings back its top three scorers from last year's team that advanced to the NCAA Tournament. Ashley Kyle led Carson-Newman in scoring at 14.7 points per game and ranked third in the league in assists. She is joined on the preseason All-Conference first team by senior forward Shari Buford, a two-time All-SAC selection who led the nation in field goal percentage last season and is a preseason honorable mention All-American.
Newberry College is picked to finish third with 56 points.
Newberry also placed two on the preseason All-Conference second team in Anita Bulcher and Helen McKinney. Bulcher, a senior forward, averaged 13.3 points and was second in the conference with 8.7 rebounds per game. McKinney was second on the team in scoring last year at 14.9 points per game.
Tusculum College is fourth in the poll with 54 points. The Pioneers were conference champions with Lenoir-Rhy ne last season, but will be under the direction of new coach Adell Harris. Returning to the Pioneers is Jasmine Gunn, a preseason All-Conference first team selection as well as a preseason honorable mention All-American to lead the team.
Wingate University is the pick for fifth place with 47 points. The Bulldogs will begin a new era without two-time conference Player of the Year Anna Atkinson. Wingate does return Kurie Washington, last season's Freshman of the Year, who was named to the preseason All-Conference first team.
Catawba College stands in sixth place with 32 points. The Catawba Indians bring back sophomore center Dana Hicks, who averaged 11.1 points and 6.9 rebounds in her first collegiate season and was named to the preseason All-Conference second team.
Lincoln Memorial University received 28 points for seventh place. The Lady Railsplitters return four players from last year's squad, including sophomore point guard Dayshalee Salaman, a member of t he 2009 SAC All-Freshman team.
Mars Hill College is picked for the eighth spot with 25 points. The Lions bring back Brittini Young, who led the conference last year in scoring (16.6 points per game) and free-throw percentage (.865) and was named to the preseason All-Conference second team.
Brevard College rounds out the poll with 13 points. The Tornados placed Samantha Winn on the preseason All-Conference second team. Last season, Winn was second in the conference in scoring at 16.4 points per game.
The 2009-10 season opens Sunday, November 15, with a pair of games. Wingate is on the road to face Queens University of Charlotte, while Carson-Newman hosts future SAC member Anderson University. Three more teams open play on Monday, November 16.
The 2010 Food Lion South Atlantic Conference tournament will begin on Wednesday, March 3 with quarterfinal games on campus sites. Winners advance to the semifinals on Saturday, March 6 at the Catawba Valley Communi ty College Multipurpose Facility in Hickory, N.C. The championship game will be Sunday, March 7 at 4 p.m.
2009-10 Women's Coaches Preseason Poll
Poll (1st) Points
1. Lenoir-Rhyne (8) 80
2. Carson-Newman (1) 70
3. Newberry 56
4. Tusculum 54
5. Wingate 47
6. Catawba 32
7. LMU 28
8. Mars Hill 25
9. Brevard 13
Women's Preseason All-Conference
FIRST TEAM
Shari Buford, Carson-Newman
Ashley Kyle, Carson-Newman
Amber Holt, Lenoir-Rhyne
Denise Moore, Lenoir-Rhyne
Jasmine Gunn, Tusculum
Kurie Washington, Wingate
SECOND TEAM
Samantha Winn, Brevard
Dana Hicks, Catawba
Brittany Mitch, Lenoir-Rhyne
Brittini Young, Mars Hill
Anita Bulcher, Newberry
Helen McKinney, Newberry
Source wkyt.com