CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. (CLARKSVILLENOW) – The Ohio Valley Conference conducted the sixth consecutive Preseason Men’s and Women’s Media Poll for basketball on Thursday, Oct. 17.
A total of 15 voters from around the league casted a ballot on who they presume to be the 2019-2020 OVC favorites and preseason players of the year.
The OVC will release its preseason poll and All-OVC team, as voted on by league head coaches and sports information directors, on Tuesday, Oct. 22 during the league’s annual Media Day in Evansville, Indiana.
Belmont was the popular pick, as the media panel chose the Bruins to win the men’s and women’s respective leagues.
Austin Peay junior guard/forward Terry Taylor and Belmont senior forward Ellie Harmeyer were named OVC Preseason Players of the Year.
The Bruins were one of the three teams to receive first-place votes on the men’s side, finishing with 11 total votes and 176 points to be slotted as the preseason favorite. Two-time defending tournament champion Murray State picked up the second most first-place votes with three and had 165 points while Austin Peay also got one first-place vote and 138 points. Jacksonville State came in fourth (126) followed by UT Martin (125), Eastern Illinois and Morehead State (90), Tennessee State (74), Eastern Kentucky (63), Tennessee Tech (53), SIUE (37) and Southeast Missouri (33).
On the women’s side, four-time defending OVC Tournament champion Belmont earned 11 first-place votes and 175 points to be dubbed as the preseason favorite. Tennessee Tech came in second, recording two first-place votes and 156 points. UT Martin picked up one first-place vote and 155 points while Morehead State received the other first-place vote and 122 points. The voters predicted a fifth-place finish for Austin Peay (119) followed by Jacksonville State (92), Southeast Missouri (87), SIUE (82), Murray State (78), Eastern Illinois (50), Tennessee State (32) and Eastern Kentucky (32).
Pollsters for the 2019-20 OVC Media Poll included: Mike Bradd, Eastern Illinois Radio; Neal Bradley, Murray State Radio; Wes Chandler, Eastern Kentucky Sports Network; Patrick Engel, Journal Gazette & Times-Courier; Edward Marlowe, Paducah Sun; Mike Organ, The Tennessean; Harry Schroeder, ValleyHoopsInsider.com; Greg Stotelmyer, Eastern Kentucky Sports Network, Rich Tiner, Belmont Radio Network; Kevin Weaks, Union City Messenger.
The 2019 OVC Basketball Media Day will be held on Tuesday, Oct. 22 at the DoubleTree in Evansville, Indiana.