Mount Union Men and Marietta Women Picked to Finish First in OAC Preseason Basketball Polls
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
|