Courtesy Morehouse Athletics :
ATLANTA, Ga. – The Morehouse College basketball team will enter the 2019-20 season ranked as the No. 25 team in the country in the preseason poll release by the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) on Tuesday.
The Maroon Tigers finished the 2018-19 campaign with a 20-5 overall record and won the SIAC’s regular season title for the second consecutive year. Last season, MHC also earned the highest ranking in school history at No. 3 after starting the season 13-1.
Morehouse returns last seasons Newcomer of the Year in senior guard Robert Andrews (Detroit, MI) who was recently named the SIAC’s Preseason Player of the Year and All-Conference first team. Joining Andrews on the SIAC preseason team is senior guard Michael Olmert (Atlanta, GA) who led the conference in assist which also ranked him third in the nation in that category.
A total of 14 schools that were in last year’s pre-season top 25 are also in this year’s. The Maroon Tigers were tabbed as the No. 17 team in Division II men’s basketball NABC preseason poll last season. Nova Southeastern, Ashland, St. Edward’s, Daemen and Concordia (Calif.) are in the pre-season rankings for the first time ever.
A total of 60 schools received votes in the pre-season poll and all 23 NCAA Division II conferences have at least one of its teams listed either among the top 25 or receiving votes. Morehouse is the only Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) team featured in the poll.
The Maroon Tigers, who play UAB in an exhibition game on Friday in Birmingham, open regular season play Nov. 12 by hosting Fisk University.
Record Points Last
1. Northwest Missouri State 38-0 400 1
2. Nova Southeastern (Fla.) 29-4 375 5
3. Bellarmine (Ky.) 28-5 353 7
4. West Liberty (W.Va.) 28-5 305 9
5. UC San Diego 26-8 294 NR
6. Lincoln Memorial (Tenn.) 20-9 278 NR
7. West Texas A&M 34-4 266 3
8. Queens (N.C.) 31-5 247 10
9. Southern Nazarene (Okla.) 29-6 239 13
10. Missouri Southern 25-8 220 NR
11. Indiana (Pa.) 30-3 213 2
12. Valdosta State (Ga.) 24-7 203 21
13. Augusta (Ga.) 28-6 162 16
14. Colorado School of Mines 25-6 144 14
15. Northern State (S.D.) 26-7 135 19
16. Alabama Huntsville 24-8 127 NR
17. Findlay (Ohio) 28-5 120 8
18. Southern Indiana 26-9 109 NR
19. Ashland (Ohio) 23-7 102 NR
20. St. Edward’s (Texas) 30-4 83 4
21. Saint Anselm (N.H.) 26-6 68 20
22. Daemen (N.Y.) 24-6 63 22
23. Concordia (Calif.) 23-11 60 NR
24. Tarleton State (Texas) 21-10 46 NR
25. Morehouse (Ga.) 20-5 39 NR
Records final from 2018-19 season.
Last ranking is from final ranking of 2018-19 season.
Others receiving votes: Azusa Pacific (Calif.) 38, Cal Poly Pomona 38, Jefferson (Pa.) 38, Augustana (S.D.) 36, Seattle Pacific (Wash.) 36, USC Aiken 31, Florida Southern 30, Bowie State (Md.) 28, Christian Brothers (Tenn.) 26, Bentley (Mass.) 25, Washburn (Kan.) 25, Davenport (Mich.) 22, Barry (Fla.) 19, St. Thomas Aquinas (N.Y.) 18, New Haven (Conn.) 17, Catawba (N.C.) 15, Southeastern Oklahoma State 14, Minnesota State 13, UNC Pembroke 13, Lewis (Ill.) 12, Point Loma (Calif.) 9, Western Oregon 8, Cal State East Bay 6, Fort Hays State (Texas) 6, Chaminade (Hawai’i) 5, Emmanuel (Ga.) 5, East Stroudsburg (Pa.) 4, Bridgeport (Conn.) 3, Lynn (Fla.) 2, Western Washington 2, Belmont Abbey (N.C.) 1, Dixie State (Utah) 1, Indianapolis (Ind.) 1, Saint Martin’s (Wash.) 1, Slippery Rock (Pa.) 1.
