The 2018-19 Emory men's basketball team has been picked to finish first in the University Athletic Association in a preseason poll conducted by the league's coaches.
The Eagles received six first-place votes out of the eight cast and registered 48 points. The University of Rochester was tabbed for second, accounting for the other two first-place ballots and totaling 42 points.
Emory head coach Jason Zimmerman enters his 12th season at the helm of the Eagles' program with 10 returning veterans from last year's squad that fashioned an overall record of 23-5 and earned the program's sixth straight bid to the NCAA Tournament, where it advanced to the Round of 16 for the fourth time in five years. The Eagles finished second in the UAA with a 12-2 ledger.
The Eagles do return senior guard Gebereal Baitey, a starter in all 28 games last season and owner of an 11.0 points per-game scoring average. He is the returning team leader in terms of minutes played (29.7 mpg) and wound up 2017-18 as the club leader with 43 steals. Sophomore guard Romin Williams was selected as both Second Team All-UAA and UAA Rookie of the Year after tossing in a team-high 15.1 points per game while knocking down a team-leading 64 three-point field goals. Senior Beau Bommarito (7.2 ppg) is back in the fold as another starter while sophomore forward Matt Davet is coming off a productive rookie season that saw him produce 8.4 points and 3.1 boards per contest. In addition, Emory will look forward to the return of senior Spencer Osborne and sophomore Matt Schner, both of whom missed last season with injuries.
Emory is ranked 18th in the recently released D3hoops.com Preseason Top 25 Poll.
Emory will open the campaign on Sunday, November 11, when it plays at Piedmont College in a 7:00 pm start.
2018-19 UAA MEN'S BASKETBALL PRESEASON POLL
1. Emory (6) 48
2. Rochester (2) 42
3. Wash U 35
4. Chicago 31
5. NYU 22
6. Case Western 19
7. Carnegie Mellon 18
8. Brandeis 8
Emory Men's Basketball Picked For First In UAA Preseason Poll
Posted: Oct 25, 2018