Furman and Mercer Picked to Win SoCon Men’s Basketball Title With UTC Selected 7th

October 25, 2017

Rick Nyman,

SPARTANBURG, S.C. (AP) – Mercer is the preseason pick to win the Southern Conference title in voting by league coaches while Furman was the choice among SoCon media members.

The SoCon’s men’s basketball rankings were released Wednesday.

Mercer finished ahead of Samford in the coach’s voting with Furman in third. League media members also selected Samford to finish second, but voted Mercer to finish first. Reigning league tournament champion East Tennessee State was voted fourth by both panels.

League coaches voted Furman senior guard Devin Sibley as the preseason player of the year. Sibley averaged 17.7 points last season as the Paladins tied for the SoCon’s regular-season title.

Sibley also headed up the 10-man all-Southern Conference team. Furman, Samford and Wofford each had two players selected to the team.

2017-18 Preseason Southern Conference Coaches Poll
Team (1st-place votes) Total
1. Mercer (4) 71
2. Samford (3) 70
3. Furman (1) 65
4. ETSU (2) 64
5. UNCG 52
6. Wofford 43
7. The Citadel 27
Chattanooga 27
9. Western Carolina 22
10. VMI 9