BATON ROUGE – The LSU Tigers have been selected to receive the bronze in the upcoming Southeastern Conference basketball season.
The SEC released its annual preseason poll on Tuesday and the Tigers were selected third overall. The vote is done by a panel of both SEC and national media members.
LSU is coming off an impressive season in which the team went 28-7 overall, 16-2 in SEC play, including going 9-0 on the road in conference, and winning the regular season conference championship for the first time since 2009.
The Tigers also dealt with the suspension of head coach Will Wade who was mentioned on a wiretap as part of a FBI investigation into college athletics corruption. Wade was never charged by the FBI or the government for wrongdoing. After missing five games for the suspension, Wade was reinstated by the university in April.
LSU, with interim coach Tony Benford, would go on to defeat Yale and Maryland in the NCAA Men’s Tournament and advance to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2009.
LSU senior guard Skylar Mays, who will play his 100th career game in the season opener on Nov. 8, was the lone Tiger to earn preseason honors. Mays, who averaged a career best 13.4 points per game last season, was selected second team preseason All-SEC.
Kentucky was selected as the preseason favorite for the ninth consecutive season and the 15th time since 1998-99. Florida was voted to finish second overall with LSU, Auburn and Tennessee rounding out the top five.
Florida’s Kerry Blackshear was chosen as the SEC Men’s Basketball Player of the Year while Florida’s Andrew Nembhard, Georgia’s Anthony Edwards, Kentucky’s Ashton Hagans & Tyrese Maxey, LSU’s Mays, Ole Miss’ Breein Tyree, Mississippi State’s Reggie Perry and Tennessee’s Lamonté Turner also received votes for that honor.
LSU is scheduled to open the 2019-20 season at home against Bowling Green on Friday, Nov. 8, and will begin SEC play at Tennessee on Saturday, Jan. 4.
SEC Preseason Media Poll
Predicted Order Of Finish
1. Kentucky
2. Florida
3. LSU
4. Auburn
5. Tennessee
6. Alabama
7. Mississippi State
8. Ole Miss
9. Georgia
10. South Carolina
11. Arkansas
12. Texas A&M
13. Missouri
14. Vanderbilt
First Team All-SEC
Kerry Blackshear – Florida
Anthony Edwards – Georgia
Ashton Hagans – Kentucky
Breein Tyree – Ole Miss
Reggie Perry – Mississippi State
Second Team All-SEC
Kira Lewis Jr. – Alabama
Isaiah Joe – Arkansas
Andrew Nembhard – Florida
Tyrese Maxey – Kentucky
EJ Montgomery – Kentucky
Skylar Mays – LSU
Lamonté Turner – Tennessee
SEC Player of the Year
Kerry Blackshear – Florida