Preseason Conference Media/Coaches Polls

It was recently announced that free-agent journalist Troy Machir (aka The Trizzle) will coming on board as a full-time writer for the '09-'10 college basketball season. Talks began as early as last June, but they soon fizzled as B.I.A.H could not meet the monetary demands of the highly-touted free-agent. Machir's new deal is for no less than one 12-pack a week during non-conference play, with an incentive-based deal for a guaranteed 30-pack per week from the beginning of conference play till the end of March Madness. Machir will provide B.I.A.H with a huge boost of hilarity, and is one of the foremost experts on college mascots and nicknames. He was also the mastermind behind B.I.A.H's "All-Name Team". Machir comes from a background in sports radio and new media.

OK, so now that we've gotten the breaking news out of the way, its time to get right in to the good stuff. We are in the home-stretch of the off-season, and teams are making their final adjustments to be ready for opening tip-off less than 14 days away. The pollsters are gearing up as well. Here we have all the preseason coaches/media polls for every major conference. Will these polls look the same by the end of the year? If Kansas can stay off the sauce, then possibly.

These numbers might be a little confusing to some of you. You can thank the conference officials for this, as not all leagues had both media and coaches polls. In fact, some conferences didn't even release any polls. But that's why I'm here, to help you decipher the numbers and select the top teams in each league.

Preseason Conference Coaches/Media Polls

America East Conference Coaches Poll - Boston U. (8), Vermont (1)
Well for one thing, we all knew Binghamton wasn't going to be getting the top spot in this poll. Former Villanova assistant Pat Chambers begins his first year as head coach of the terriers, who are seeking to win their sixth conference title, but their first since 2002.

Atlantic Coast Conference Media Poll - Duke (25), UNC (20)
Duke got more first place votes, but both teams ended up with the same amount of overall points, so the teams share the top spot in the preseason polls. Duke's problem will be their thin backcourt, and for UNC it will be their lack of leadership. This is mainly due to the graduation of the core of last year's championship squad. With Maryland, Wake Forest, and Georgia Tech nipping at their heels, this could be a very interesting season for the ACC.

Atlantic Sun Conference Coaches Poll - Jacksonville (5), Lipscomb (4), Mercer (1)
Jacksonville was the more popular vote by the media, but the coaches were basically split between the Dolphins and the Bison of Lipscomb. I would give my vote to Jacksonville, primarily because Libscomb has never even sniffed the NCAA tournament before, nor have they ever won the A-Sun tournament. They did however, win the regular season in 2006.

Atlantic 10 conference Media Poll - Dayton (33), Xavier (11)
I can't remember the last time Xavier wasn't the preseason favorite in the A-10. But Dayton definitely deserves the honors this year. The Flyers returns ten players who averaged between 8 and 28 minutes of playing time last year. With Chris "Top Flight" Wright and Marcus Johnson leading the way, the Flyers should be poised to have their best season in a long time. But don't sleep on the rest of the A-10. Sean Miller might have departed from Xavier, but the team will still be a force in conference play, and the spiders of Richmond could post their best season in a long, long time.

Big East Conference Coaches Poll - Villanova (10), West Virginia (5), Connecticut (1)
The Big East isn't going to be as ferocious as last year. But with five teams in the AP top 25, the conference will still be one of the country's best in '09-'10. The Wildcats nabbed the top spot due to returning talent, a top five recruiting class, and plenty of depth. Senior leader Scottie Reynolds, Duke transfer Taylor King and highly-touted recruit Mouphtaou Yarou will be the key players for Jay Wright's squad. Three Big East teams made it to the Final Four last year, I'd bet my lunch money it doesn't happen in 2010.

Big Sky Conference Coaches Poll - Weber State (4), Montana (3), Idaho State (1), Portland State (1)
The Coaches and media agree that defending champs Weber State will be the best in the Big Sky. However, they differed in opinion about Portland State, the two-time postseason champions. The coaches voted them fourth, while the media voted them third. Last year, Weber State became the first school in conference history to go 8-0 in conference road games. Now that is an impressive statistic.

Big South Conference Media Poll - Radford (23), UNC-Ashville, Winthrop (1)
Whats interesting here is that Winthrop garnered one vote from the media, but ended up ranking third behind UNC-Ashville, which received no votes from the media. Nonetheless, its Radford who is picked to repeat as conference champs. They are led by last year's conference player of the year, and this year's preseason player of the year, the "Belarussian Beast" Artsiom Parakhouski. The 6'10" senior was in complete beast mode all last year, averaging nearly a double-double per contest. I think he will continue the trend and dominate the paint in the Big South.

Big 10 Conference Media Poll - Michigan State (20), Purdue (4)
No surprise who was pegged no. 1 in the Big Ten. In fact, Sparty's sensational backcourt of Kalin Lucas and Manny Harris was also named to the preseason All-Conference team. Yes, Purdue has Hummell and Kramer, and the Buckeyes have Turner, but I think that is hardly enough for either team to contend with Izzo's squad throughout league play.

Big 12 Conference Coaches Poll - Kansas (11), Texas (1)
Kansas nabbed the top preseason ranking in both the conference and the entire country. Only problem is that a good chunk of their team will be spending most of the fall and winter at Alchoholics Anonymous meetings and/or anger management sessions. The talent is definitely there, but if the Jayhawks can't kick their extracurricular activities to the curb, a stacked Longhorn's squad has the size and depth to run Kansas right off the road.

Big West Conference Media Poll - Long Beach State (17), UC-Santa Clara (6), Pacific (1)
Another case of a team who was ranked in the middle of the pack who still recieved a vote. Pacific is picked to finish fifth, and yet one person in the media still thinks they deserve to finish first. Who ever voted for Pacific probably forgot that Michael Olowakandi doesn't play there anymore. In Any case, the 49er's return four starters from last years squad which finished 15-15, but 10-6 in conference play.

Conference USA - They aren't releasing a coaches poll or a media poll. This summer, the conference announced that the coaches poll for football would be kept in secrecy. Apparently they are doing the same for basketball. It's not like its a big secret. Even with the departure of coach Cal from Memphis, you have to imagine the Tigers are still the preseason favorite as Josh Pastner has done a solid job in keeping the Tigers loaded. Don't forget about Tulsa though, this could be the year the Golden Hurricanes take over as champs of Conference USA. The team's big man, Jerome Jordan was named C-USA preseason player of the year and was named to the Naismith Trophy award watch list.

Colonial Athletic Association - Old Dominion, Northeastern, VCU
The votes from coaches and media were not announced, but Old Dominion was picked by the experts to finish first in the CAA. The Monarchs have advanced to post-season play five years in row, including capturing the inaugural CollegeInsider.com Tournament championship last spring. VCU's Larry Sanders was named preseason player of the year, and the Rams will return four starters from last years squad that went 24-10 under Anthony Grant, who is now the head coach at Alabama.

Great West Conference Media Poll - South Dakota (4), Utah Valley (2)
Up until right now, I had no idea this conference existed. That's probably because this is the first year the conference will include basketball. What is even more confusing is that this league is called the "Great West" yet features teams from Illinois, Texas and New Jersey. Last I checked, Illinois and New Jersey weren't located in the west, let alone the great west. All I can say is that the travel schedule for NJIT is going to be crazy. Just imagine having to play at North Dakota on a Saturday, a home game in New Jersey on Tuesday, then out to Utah on Thursday.

Horizon League Media Poll - Butler (43), Cleveland State (2), Wright State (1)
First off, I want to know what the person was smoking who picked Wright State over Butler. That's like the one guy who didn't vote for Cal Ripken Jr. on the Hall of Fame ballot. (Yes, I'm an Orioles fan. No, don't make fun of me, I already feel bad enough about it.) Nonetheless, this is Butler's league to win. Cleveland State is a good team ( they beat Syracuse and Wake Forest last year) and could possibly sneak up and win the conference tournament, but they don't have the horses to run with Butler during the season. Shelvin Mack, Gordon Hayward and Matt Howard aren't just the best trio in the conference; they could be the best trio in the entire country too.

Ivy League Media Poll - Cornell (16)
No debate necessary here. Cornell grabbed all 16 votes and is the unanimous favorite to win their third consecutive Ivy League title. The Bears return all five starters, three all-league selections, and the Ivy League rookie and defensive player of the year from a year ago. Cornell is definitely doing their part to break the "dumb jock" stereotype. These nerds can ball.

Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Coaches Poll - Siena (9), Niagara, Rider (1)
Should it be a surprise to anyone that Siena was tabbed to win the MAAC this year? The Saints have advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament the past two years and have the talent and depth to do it again this year. Although the team graduated its best player, Kenny Hasbrouck, the Saints do return three players who averaged 10 or more ppg last year.

Mid American Conference Media Poll - Akron (19), Central Michigan (10), Northern Illinois (4),Western Michigan (4) Kent State (3), Eastern Michigan (3), Ball State (3)
How are we suppose to pick a clear cut winner if nearly every team in the conference got a first place vote? Whats even more confusing is that the media also voted on who they thought would win the post-season tournament, and Buffalo, who only received one vote for preseason favorite, received two, second behind Akron who gobbled up 19 votes. Is there something we don't know about Buffalo? I have so many questions about this conference, and I feel none of them can/will be answered. I guess we will just have to watch and see how this one plays out. Go Buffalo!

Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Media Poll - Morgan State (20), Hampton (1), Florida A&M (1)
The defending champs at Morgan State were picked to once again sit atop the conference. Last year, the bears finished 23-12, and 13-3 in MEAC play. They also had wins over big name schools like DePaul (79-75), and Maryland (66-65). The Team's head coach Todd Bozeman has received coach-of-the-year honors in back-to-back years. I bet he is looking to grab the hat trick this year.

Missouri Valley Conference Media Poll - Northern Iowa (38), Creighton (1)
The pollsters aren't giving the Blue Jays much of a chance. Creighton has won 20-plus games for a league-record 11-straight seasons and also owns a league record with 12-straight post-season appearances. The reason UNI got the nod might be because they return all five starters from last year. Since The Valley began conducting a pre-season poll (1985-86), there have been four defending regular-season champions, including UNI this year, that have returned all five starters for the next season. The MVC is always a dangerous conference, so I'm not settled on UNI yet. With Creighton, Southern Illinois, Drake and Bradley in the mix, I have to think that there will be an upset in the conference that always seem to produce an upset somewhere along the line.

Mountain West Conference Media Poll - BYU (23), San Diego State (1)
San Diego State had a breakout season last year, advancing to the finals of the N.I.T. But Jimmer Fredette (preseason player of the year) and the BYU Cougars will once again be the best team in the Mountain West. The Cougars are three-time defending league champions and this season should be no different. The media got it right giving the majority of the votes to BYU. Plus Jimmer Fredette has a sweet name.

Northeast Conference Coaches Poll - Mount Saint Marys (9), Long Island (1)
This is the second straight year that the Mountaineers have been picked to finish first in the league. I'm not sure that's a good thing, because last year, Robert Morris finished the season atop the mountain. The Colonials hope to repeat this season despite being ranked third.

Ohio Valley Conference Media Poll - Morehead State (10), Murray State (10)
Ahhhh, a good ole fashioned tie. For one thing, we know these standings wont be like this at the end of the season. I'm a big fan of Morehead State's Kenneth Faried. Maybe its the dreadlocks, or maybe its the fact that this kid is a flat out ball-hawk. Blocks, rebounds, steals, you name it, this kid is going to be near the basketball. Oh, and he was named OVC preseason player of the year. My favorite team in the OVC, the Skyhawks (the best college nickname out there) of Tennessee-Martin, who were the league champs a year ago, drop to the eight spot. This is mainly due to the graduation of Lester Hudson, who averaged 28 points a game last year.

Pac-10 Conference Media Poll - California (25), Washington (7), UCLA (5)
Cal got the top preseason ranking in the Pac-10 but its clear that not all the voters thought that way. I mean, Washington and Cal are ranked back-to-back in the AP preseason top 25, at 13 and 14, and we actually have Washington ranked above Cal in our preseason top 25. So you can clearly tell that this one is still up for debate. Mike Montgomery has done a fabulous job at Cal thus far, and the Pac-10 could be the premier conference in '09-'10. Personally, I'd give the nod to Cal, but that's just because they have Bak Bak, a member of our All-Name team.

Patriot League Media Poll - Holy Cross (13), Lehigh (3)
The Crusaders return four starters from last year's team that fell short in the Patriot League championship game. They are hoping that this year will be different. With defending champs American University losing their core to graduation, Holy Cross should have an easier path to the title. Lehigh has other plans though. They will be led by preseason player of the year Marquis Hall, who was recognized as the League's rookie of the year back in 2007.

Southeastern Conference Media Poll - Kentucky (22), Mississippi State (3), Tennessee (2)
No surprise here. The arrival of coach Cal in Lexington has sparked a revival of big blue nation. But here's my question. Considering his team is made up of mostly new players, and his star recruit will be suspended for one game, why was the voting discrepancy so vast? Don't count out Jarvis Vanardo and the Bulldogs of MSU. If Renardo Sidney stops being the headache that he was this summer, alongside Varnardo and newcomer John Riek, the Bulldogs definitely have my vote. I imagine Kentucky has the potential to be the best in the conference, but there is just too much going on off the court to convince me right now. I want to see how they actually perform on the floor. But I guess that's what the season is for.

Southland Conference Media Poll - Sam Houston State (7), Stephen F. Austin (5), Nicholls (4), Southeastern Louisiana (4)
The Southland really likes to break down their voting. They had separate votes for each division and separated it by coaches and media. Both parties agreed that Sam Houston State will win the west division, while the coaches believe Stephen F. Austin will take the east and media is pulling for Nichols. From what I'm gathered, nobody really has a tight grasp on who the clear cut favorite is. As for me, I'm rooting for Texas-San Antonio. Why? because their mascot is the Roadrunner. Enough said.

Southwestern Athletic Conference - No polls have been released, but from what I understand, this should be an interesting season. The conference will feature eight new head coaches. That has to be the most in the entire country. I'm going with Alabama State, even though Chief Kickingstallionsims has graduated.

Summit League Media Poll - Oakland (34), Oral Roberts, IUPUI (1)
The Grizzles of Oakland dominated preseason media day. The took 34 out of the 35 first place votes, and placed a trio of players on the preseason All-League first team, which is led by preseason player of the year Johnathon Jones. Oakland was also listed as the 14th best mid-major team in the country by media-folk. I'd probably take this Oakland squad over the Oakland Raiders in basketball and football.

Sun Belt Conference Coaches Poll - Western Kentucky (12), North Texas (9)
Western Kentucky and North Texas have been picked to win the Sun Belt Conference this season, while Hilltopper senior guard A.J. Slaughter headlines the Preseason All-Conference team. Defending East division and tournament champion WKU received 77 points and 12 first-place votes, emerging as the favorite to repeat in the East and North Texas, for the second-straight season, with its 85 points and nine first place votes is predicted to claim the top spot in the West. I myself am going with Western Kentucky, and this is why.

West Coast Conference Coaches Poll - Gonzaga (6), Portland (2)
I don't think I was born the last time any team not named Gonzaga was tops in the WCC, and they will continue their dominance in the west this season. They wont be as stacked as they were last year, but Matt Bouldin and company are good enough to fend off the also-rans of the WCC. Don't sleep on Portland though, as we've documented, they could be in the running for sleeper-of-the-year.

Western Athletic Conference Coaches Poll - Utah State (8), Nevada (1)
I will always be confused as to why a school in Louisiana (La. Tech) is in a conference with the word "west" in it. I'm no geographer, but I'm pretty sure Louisiana is in the south. But then again, Marquette is in Wisconsin and they are in the Big "East". Anyways, '08 champs Utah State get the nod to repeat this year, and their senior-led backcourt of Jahmar Young and Tai Wesley are the reason why. If I had to choose, I'd go with Nevada, who returns stud forward Luke Babbitt. Don't be surprised if he is named conference PoY and his team is holding the WAC trophy come March.