Polls & Rankings

The BIG List: CHN's 2009-10 Preview Index

CHN — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 01:34:09 -0500

2009-10 PREVIEW: THE BIG LIST

No one has more college basketball preview material than collegehoops.net.. not even ESPN (and if you don't believe me, I dare you to read every single preview article we put online.. it might blind your eyes.. and maybe even your ears). Here's a comprehensive list of 2009-10 preview content to keep you busy for the next few months. Bookmark this page and check back daily for new preview goodness. Like what you see? Spread the word..

As always, thanks for stopping by the site!

By Shawn Siegel

CHN Editor

Latest Additions 11/17 - Check out Conference by Conference Previews

144 Teams in 144 Days runs from June to November!

Top 144 RSS Feed

Top 144 Team Previews

- #1 Kansas, #2 Villanova, #3 Michigan State..

By Joel Welser

Preview Editor

- Teams #26 to 40 - #26 Georgia Tech, #27 Louisville, #28 Texas A&M..

- Teams #41 to 60 - #41 Creighton, #42 ASU, #43 BYU..

- Teams #61 to 80 - #61 Richmond, #62 Utah, #63 LSU..

- Teams #81 to 100 - #81 Marquette, #82 Buffalo, #83 VCU..

- Teams #101 to 120 - #101 Long Beach St, #102 Northeastern, #103 TCU..

- Teams #121 to 144 - #121 Santa Clara, #122 Mt. Saint Mary's, #123 Iowa..

- Alphabetical Team Previews/Ranking - Easy access to your favorite team's preview/ranking.

- Complete 348 Team D1 Ranking: 145-200 - 201-275 - 276-348

DAILY CONFERENCE POLLS

Who will win all 31 D1 conferences?..


ACC?	A10?	B. East?	Big Ten?	Big 12?	HL?	MVC?	MWC?	P-10?	SEC?	WCC?

..ALL 31 LEAGUES vote early, vote often

Other Polls

- Who will the National Title?

- What will be the best conference?

- Best Non-BCS conference?

- Best Freshman?

- Best Non-BCS Team? (new)

- all polls..

CONFERENCE BY CONFERENCE

In-depth previews of all D1 conferences, including league & team rankings, previews, CHN's All-Conference teams, and more.

CONFERENCE PREVIEWS / RANKING

- conference previews including projected standings, all-league, top freshman, leaders, and related league content.

1 Big Ten

2 Big 12

3 ACC

4 SEC

5 Big East

6 Pac-10

7 Atlantic 10

8 MVC

9 MWC

10 CUSA

11 WAC

12 Horizon

13 Colonial

14 Sun Belt

15 MAAC

16 WCC

17 MAC

18 Big West

19 Summit

20 Big Sky

21 Southland

22 Ivy

23 Southern

24 America East

25 Atlantic Sun

26 Patriot

27 OVC

28 Big South

29 NEC

30 MEAC

31 SWAC

Five-Year Rankings - BCS teams ordered by a formula that counts postseason success & conference winning %

- ACC - Big 12 - Big East - Big Ten - Pac-10 - SEC (new)

High-Low Rankings - A range or projected finishes for BCS teams

ACC - Big 12 - Big East - Big Ten - Pac-10 - SEC

BRACKETOLOGY, OTHER NATIONAL RANKINGS & POLLS

Get a head start on your 2009 NCAA Tournament bracket

2010 TOURNEY BRACKET

CHN's Top 144 plugged into a bracket. Start drooling about March in October.

PRESEASON TOP 50: Kansas #1

The Editor's take.. different from the official Top 144 ranking

2010 NCAA Tournament Bracketology: Preseason (new!)

Its never to early to project the Field.. all 65 heading to the Dance

National Media Rankings

- Coaches Poll

- AP Top 25

- The Preview Magazines: Consensus Top 25

How Athlon, Lindy's, and Sporting News compare

PLAYER AWARDS & RANKINGS

All-Americans, All-Conference & More

CollegeHoops.net Awards

- All-America Team (& commentary)

- High-Major All-Americans (& commentary)

- Mid-Major All-Americans (& commentary)

- All-Freshman Team (& commentary)

..all awards

Power Conferences: Top 25 Players

Ranking the best players per position in each conference (by Shawn Siegel)

- ACC - Big 12 - Big East - Big Ten - Pac-10 - SEC

Editor's Picks

- 2009-10 All-America Teams

National Awards

- AP All-America Team (off-site)

Official Coaches/Media Polls & All-Conference Teams

- ACC

- MVC

- SEC

- More

CHN Top 100

1	John Wall
2	Sherron Collins
3	Luke Harangody
4	Cole Aldrich
5	Evan Turner
Complete Top 100 our annual favorite, ranking the game's best

MARCH MADNESS ALL SEASON

Get prepared for the season with CHN's Jeff Borzello. Players, teams, conferences -- it's all here.

- Position Rankings: PG SG SF PF C

- Best Backcourts

- Best Frontcourts

- Group Rankings: Inside-Outside Combos Trios Wing Duos

- Old Faces, New Places: Impact Transfers

- Fifty Impact Freshmen

- Player Rankings: Defenders, Three-point Shooters, Break-Out Players, Mid-Major Stars, Go-to Guys

- Biggest Shoes to Fill

- Non-Conference Games to Watch

- Non-BCS Top 25

- Mid-Major Sleepers

Conference Previews

No. 33: Independents Preview

No. 32: Great West Conference Preview

No. 31: SWAC Preview

No. 30: MEAC Preview

No. 29: Atlantic Sun Conference Preview

No. 28: Northeast Conference Preview

No. 27: America East Conference Preview

No. 26: Patriot League Preview

No. 25: Southland Conference Preview

No. 24: Ohio Valley Conference Preview

No. 23: Big South Conference Preview

No. 22: Ivy League Preview

No. 21: Big Sky Conference Preview

No. 20: Summit League Preview

No. 19: Southern Conference Preview

No. 18: Mid-American Conference Preview

No. 17: Big West Conference Preview

No. 16: Sun Belt Conference Preview

No. 15: MAAC Preview

No. 14: Horizon League Preview

No. 13: West Coast Conference Preview

No. 12: CAA Preview

No. 11: WAC Preview

No. 10: Missouri Valley Conference Preview

No. 9: Conference-USA Preview

No. 8: Mountain West Conference Preview

No. 7: Atlantic-10 Conference Preview

No. 6: Pac-10 Conference Preview

No. 5: SEC Preview

No. 4: Big East Conference Preview

No. 3: ACC Preview

No. 2: Big Ten Conference Preview

No. 1: Big 12 Conference Preview

March Madness All Season Feed

By Jeff Borzello

March Madness All Season Blog

FANTASY COLLEGE BASKETBALL

Projected stats, player rankings, etc

Fantasy Stats Previews - Fantasy Preview Archive

Projected stats for all starting BCS players

- ACC - Big East - Big 12 - Big Ten - Pac-10 - SEC

National Preview Magazines: Consensus Top 25

Shawn Siegel — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 12:27:42 -0500

Don't like CollegeHoops.net's Top 144 Ranking? Here's what the major annual preview magazines have to say, including a consensus average based on all three.

There are certainly some interesting differences between the publications. Michigan is in the Top 10 in Lindy's but in the others' Top 20. Oklahoma, Georgia Tech, and UCONN are in 2 of 3 Top 15's, but the 3rd doesn't even rank them. West Virginia's wide spread is from 5th in Sporting News to 18th in Lindy's. Vanderbilt only appears in Athlon, and are all the way up at 16th.

SN = Sporting News.

	TEAM	ATHLON	LINDY'S	SN	AVG	vs CHN
1	Kansas	1	1	1	1.0	1
2	Michigan St	2	3	3	2.7	3
3	Texas	3	2	6	3.7	5
4	North Carolina	5	5	4	4.7	4
5	Kentucky	6	8	2	5.3	6
6	Purdue	4	6	7	5.7	10
7	Villanova	7	4	9	6.7	2
8	Tennessee	8	12	12	10.7	9
9t	Butler	12	7	14	11.0	11
9t	West Virginia	10	18	5	11.0	7
11	Duke	18	11	8	12.3	8
12	California	14	10	16	13.3	15
13t	Washington	17	16	13	15.3	12
13t	Mississippi St	15	21	10	15.3	23
15	Michigan	23	9	24	18.7	14
16	Maryland	22	20	20	20.7	20
17	Dayton	25	17	23	21.7	16

-- Below teams only in 2 of 3 rankings --

18	Oklahoma	9	14		7.7	37
19	Georgia Tech	13	13		8.7	13
20	UCONN	11		15	8.7	19
21	Georgetown	21		11	10.7	17
22	Louisville	19	15		11.3	27
23	Ohio St		22	19	13.7	13
24	Clemson	24		17	13.7	22
25	Illinois		25	21	15.3	21

-- Other teams appearig in a magazine Top 25 --

Vanderbilt	16			47
Wake Forest			18	44
Tulsa		19		38
BYU	20			42
Notre Dame			22	60
UCLA		23		29
South Carolina		24		30
Florida St			25	52

-- Teams in CHN's Top 25 but not in any other --

Minnesota	18
Xavier	24
Kansas State	25

College Basketball Preview - 144 Teams in 144 Days - Alphabetical Ranks/Previews

Poll: Best Non-BCS Conference in 2009-10?

Shawn Siegel — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 11:05:41 -0500

Preseason All-SEC: Coaches

Press Release — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 16:21:50 -0500

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- The Southeastern Conference unveiled its sixth annual men’s basketball coaches preseason All-SEC first and second teams Monday, tipping off another great season of SEC men’s basketball.

Twenty-seven different players received votes for the teams and Kentucky, Ole Miss, South Carolina and Tennessee led all schools with two selections each. Six of the eight first team selections were unanimous picks. South Carolina’s Devan Downey, LSU’s Tasmin Mitchell, Kentucky’s Patrick Patterson, Tennessee’s Tyler Smith, Mississippi State’s Jarvis Varnado and Ole Miss’ Terrico White were each unanimous picks.

The coaches preseason All-SEC first and second teams consist of a minimum of eight players on each squad, voted on by the SEC Head Men’s Basketball Coaches. No ties were broken and no predicted order of finish was made.

FIRST TEAM ALL-SEC       Pos         Ht           Wt          Cl            Hometown

Devan Downey, South Carolina#               G             5-9          175         Sr.           Chester, S.C.

Tasmin Mitchell, LSU#    F              6-7          235         Sr.           Denham Springs, La.

A.J. Ogilvy, Vanderbilt    C             6-11       250         Jr.           Sydney, Australia

Patrick Patterson, Kentucky#     F              6-9          235         Jr.           Huntington, W.Va.

Tyler Smith, Tennessee#              G/F        6-7          215         Sr.           Pulaski, Tenn.

Jarvis Varnado, Mississippi State#            F              6-9          230         Sr.           Brownsville, Tenn.

Michael Washington, Arkansas F              6-9          239         Sr.           McGehee, Ark.

Terrico White, Ole Miss#              G             6-5          211         So.          Memphis, Tenn.

SECOND TEAM ALL-SEC Pos         Ht           Wt          Cl            Hometown

Dominique Archie, South Carolina            F              6-7          200         Sr.           Augusta, Ga.

Wayne Chism, Tennessee            F/C         6-9          246         Sr.           Jackson, Tenn.

JaMychal Green, Alabama           F              6-9          220         So.          Montgomery, Ala.

DeWayne Reed, Auburn               G             6-1          175         Sr.           Houston, Texas

Trey Thompkins, Georgia             F              6-10       247         So.          Lithonia, Ga.

Alex Tyus, Florida             F              6-8          220         Jr.           St. Louis, Mo.

John Wall, Kentucky       G             6-4          195         Fr.           Raleigh, N.C.

Chris Warren, Ole Miss G             5-10       165         Jr.           Orlando, Fla.

#-Unanimous Selection

Ties are not broken

Poll: Best Conference in 2009-10?

Shawn Siegel — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 12:07:04 -0500

America East Preseason Poll: BU #1

Press Release — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 17:29:28 -0400

HARTFORD, Conn.-- In search of its first league title since 2002, Boston University is the unanimous preseason choice of the coaches to win its sixth America East Men’s Basketball title in 2009-10. The selections were announced today as part of the America East Basketball Tip-Off Luncheon held at the Connecticut State Capitol in Hartford, host city for the 2010 America East Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championship Presented by Newman’s Own on March 4-7.

The Terriers received all eight possible first-place votes (coaches were not allowed to vote for their team) and 64 points, followed by University of Vermont, which received the remaining first-place vote and 56 points. University at Albany barely edged Stony Brook University for third place with 43 points, while the Seawolves came in one point behind with 42, just ahead of University of New Hampshire’s 39. University of Hartford and UMBC tied for sixth with 28 points apiece, while University of Maine (14 points) and Binghamton University (12) rounded out the poll.

The 2010 America East Championship first, quarter and semifinal rounds will take place March 4-7 at Hartford’s Chase Arena in the Reich Family Pavilion. The title game will be hosted a week later by the highest remaining seed with the winner earning an automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament.

Boston University (17-11 overall, 11-5 America East in 2008-09) begins its first season under head coach Patrick Chambers, who helped lead Villanova to the Final Four last season as Jay Wright’s associate head coach. Chambers will inherit a wealth of talent as the Terriers return their top six scorers and 91.5 percent of their scoring from a year ago. Leading the charge will be first-team All-America East performers John Holland (18.1 ppg) and Corey Lowe (17.2 ppg), who ranked third and fourth, respectively, among league leaders in scoring. Reigning Rookie of the Year Jake O’Brien also returns for his sophomore season after averaging 12.5 points and 4.5 rebounds per contest as a freshman.

Vermont (24-9, 13-3) captured a share of the America East regular-season crown and earned a postseason bid for the fifth time in seven years last season, reaching the second round of the College Basketball Invitational. The Catamounts lost four-time all-conference selection Mike Trimboli, who finished his career 12th on the conference’s all-time scoring list, but welcome back the premier player in the league in senior forward Marqus Blakely. The two-time America East Player and Defensive Player of the Year, Blakely ranked among league leaders in nearly every category, leading in rebounding (9.0 rpg), blocked shots (2.7 bpg) and steals (2.0 spg) and finishing fifth in scoring (16.1 ppg).

Albany (15-16, 6-10) reached the semifinals of the America East tournament for the third time in four years last March despite suffering its first sub-.500 conference mark since the 2003-04 season. The Great Danes are one of two teams (Boston U.) to welcome back multiple all-conference players in junior guard Tim Ambrose and junior forward Will Harris, both third-team honorees a year ago. Ambrose ranked ninth among league leaders in scoring (14.3 ppg) and 13th in rebounding (5.1 rpg), while Harris was 10th in scoring (12.9 ppg) and seventh in rebounding (6.5 rpg).

Stony Brook (16-14, 8-8) is coming off one of its best season as Division I program, winning its most games since 2000-01 and setting a program record for America East victories. The Seawolves return four starters, including second-team all-league choice Muhammad El-Amin, a preseason all-conference pick this year. El-Amin, who finished seventh with 15.7 points per game last year, is joined by a pair of All-Rookie selections in sophomores Tommy Brenton and Bryan Dougher. Brenton was the second-best rebounder in the league as a freshman with 8.9 rebounds per game, while Dougher was Seawolves’ second-leading scorer and among the league’s best in free throw (.772) and 3-point percentage (.363).

New Hampshire (14-16, 8-8) reached the semifinals of the America East Championship for the second time in four seasons under head coach Bill Herrion after not reaching the league’s Final Four since 1995. Junior guard Alvin Abreu will shoulder the load on the offensive end with the graduation of All-America East performer Tyrece Gibbs. Abreu, an all-rookie choice two years ago, ranked second on UNH with 12.8 points and 2.2 assists per game. Fellow juniors Tyrone Conley (8.9 ppg, 3.4 rpg) and Dane DiLiegro (5.7 ppg, 6.9 rpg) will be important if the Wildcats are to capture their first conference title.

Hartford (7-26, 2-14) took a step back from its record-setting season of 2007-08 but was without leading scorer Joe Zeglinski, a first-team all-conference choice two years ago and a preseason selection each of the past two years, who missed all but 10 games with an ankle injury. Zeglinski, who has averaged 16.0 points per game over the last two seasons and is one of three players that have eclipsed the 1,000-point mark (1,099), should drastically help Hartford improve on its league-worst 60.5 points per game output.

UMBC (15-17, 7-9) reached the title game of the America East Championship for the second straight year in 2009, becoming just the second No. 6 seed to reach the league final. Gone are all-conference performers Jay Greene, who finished his career third on America East’s all-time assist list, and Darryl Proctor, who racked up 1,138 points and 558 rebounds in just two seasons at UMBC, but back is senior forward Matt Spadafora, who has started 44 straight games for the Retrievers and averaged 8.2 points and 3.5 rebounds per contest last year.

Maine (9-21, 4-12) returns four starters from a year ago, including All-Rookie honoree Gerald McLemore, who ranked second among first-year players with 12.1 points per game. Junior forwards Troy Barnies (7.7 ppg, 5.0 rpg) and Sean McNally (9.6 ppg, 7.4 rpg) ranked fourth and 15th, respectively, in rebounding last year. Junior college transfers Jerrell Boswell and Terrance Mitchell, who combined to average 39 points per game last season, should make the Black Bear offense, which was fourth in the league (66.0 ppg) last year get ever better.

Binghamton (23-9, 13-3) return three players from a squad that set a school record with 23 wins, won its first-ever America East title and made its first NCAA appearance. Junior guard Chretian Lukusa started 11 games for the Bearcats down the stretch last season in which they went 9-2. Sophomore center Kyrie Sutton started 15 games and ranked fifth among league leaders in blocked shots (1.2 bpg).

MVC Preseason Poll & Awards

Press Release — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 12:56:24 -0400

ST. LOUIS, Mo. -- The Northern Iowa men's basketball team has been picked to finish first in the Missouri Valley Conference, according to the preseason poll announced today during the league's annual Basketball Media Day.

Northern Iowa, which returns all five starters after sharing the regular-season title with Creighton last year, earned 38 of 39 first-place votes in the survey of league coaches, beat writers, sports information directors and play-by-play men.

Pollsters have accurately predicted the league's regular-season champ only 11 times out of 25 since 1985-86. Two teams have been picked for second place but gone on to take the regular-season crown, Southern Illinois in both 2002-03 and 2006-07.

The preseason poll doesn¹t always match the year-end standings. Last year's Northern Iowa was picked sixth and ended up in a tie for first. The year before that, Drake was picked ninth, only to finish 28-5 and win the league title.

2009-10 MVC Preseason Poll
Rk.    School (1st place votes)    Total
1.    Northern Iowa (38)    389
2.    Creighton (1)    336
3.    Illinois State    299
4.    Southern Illinois    272
5.    Wichita State    216
6.    Bradley    208
7.    Indiana State    173
8.    Drake    105
9.    Missouri State    92
10.    Evansville    55
Poll determined by panel of league sports information directors and media.

Preseason All-MVC Team
Osiris Eldridge*, Sr., G, Illinois State
Kwadzo Ahelegbe, Jr., G, Northern Iowa
Tony Freeman, Sr., G, Southern Illinois
Adam Koch, Sr., F, Northern Iowa
P¹Allen Stinnett, Jr., G, Creighton
Josh Young, Sr., G, Drake
*Preseason Player of the Year

Honorable Mention:
Kevin Dillard, Southern Illinois
Clevin Hannah, Wichita State
Jake Kelly, Indiana State
Sam Maniscalco, Bradley
Harry Marshall, Indiana State
Toure¹ Murry, Wichita State

MAC Preseason Poll & Awards

Press Release — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 12:54:12 -0400

CLEVELAND - Akron was predicted to finish first in the Mid-American Conference East Division in a poll of the league's media, the conference office announced on Oct 28.

Central Michigan was predicted to win the West Division, amassing 113 points and 10 first-place votes. Northern Illinois was picked to finish second with 102 points, while Eastern Michigan was forecast to finish third with 94 points. Ball State, Western Michigan and Toledo were picked to finish fourth, fifth and sixth in the West Division, respectively.

Five schools earned votes to win the MAC Tournament with Akron being the favorite with 19 votes. Buffalo received two votes, while Northern Illinois, Kent State and Bowling Green each received one.

MAC East Division Preseason Media Poll

1.       Akron – 190 points (19)

2.       Kent State – 108 points (3)

3.       Buffalo – 97 points (1)

4.       Miami – 78 points

5.       Bowling Green – 54 points (1)

6.       Ohio – 32 points

MAC West Division Preseason Media Poll

1.       Central Michigan – 113 points (10)

2.       Northern Illinois – 102 points (4)

3.       Eastern Michigan – 94 points (3)

4.       Ball State – 87 points (3)

5.       Western Michigan – 79 points (4)

6.       Toledo – 29 points

(1st place votes in parentheses)

Tournament Winner: Akron (19), Buffalo (2), Northern Illinois (1), Kent State (1), Bowling Green (1)

East Division All-MAC Preseason Team

Kenny Hayes, G, Miami

Brett McKnight, F, Akron

Rodney Pierce, G, Buffalo

Chris Singletary, G, Kent State

Anthony “Humpty” Hitches, G, Akron

West Division All-MAC Preseason Team

David Kool, G, Western Michigan

Jarrod Jones, F/C, Ball State

Brandon Bowdry, F, Eastern Michigan

Darion “Jake” Anderson, G, Northern Illinois

Carlos Medlock, G, Eastern Michigan

MVC Preseason Poll & Awards

Press Release — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 17:10:19 -0400

ST. LOUIS - UNI, which returns all five starters and nine of 10 players from last year’s regular-season co-champ and State Farm MVC Tournament winner, has been picked to earn the Missouri Valley Conference men’s basketball title in 2009-10.

The Panthers are hoping the pollsters are correct, although recent history could suggest otherwise, as only once in the past four years has the pre-season poll correctly picked the regular-season champ (last year Creighton was picked to win and shared the regular-season title with UNI, which was picked to finish sixth.)

The Panthers - also picked to win by The Sporting News College Basketball Preview, Lindy’s College Basketball Preview, and Athlon Sports College Basketball Preview - join a small group of defending Missouri Valley men’s basketball champs to return all five starters.

It marks the second time in league history the Panthers have been pegged as the preseason favorites. UNI was also picked to win the league in 2005-06. UNI finished fifth in the conference race in 2005-06, but earned an at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament.

MVC Men’s Basketball Preseason Poll
School (First-Place Votes) Total
1. UNI (38)......................389
2. Creighton (1).................336
3. Illinois State................299
4. Southern Illinois.............272
5. Wichita State.................216
6. Bradley.......................208
7. Indiana State.................173
8. Drake.........................105
9. Missouri State.................92
10. Evansville....................55
Poll determined by panel of league sports information directors, media, and coaches.

2009-10 MVC Preseason All-Conference Team
Name, School, Pos., Ht., Wt., Year, Hometown, High School
Kwadzo Ahelegbe, UNI, G, 6-2, 200, Jr., Oakdale (Minn.) Tartan High
Osiris Eldridge, Illinois State, G, 6-3, 215, Sr., Chicago (Ill.) Phillips Academy
Tony Freeman, Southern Illinois, G, 6-1, 195, Sr., Maywood (Ill.) St. Joseph’s/Iowa
Adam Koch, UNI, F, 6-8, 255, Sr., Ashwaubenon (Wis.) High
P’Allen Stinnett, Creighton, G, 6-3, 180, Jr., Las Vegas (Nev.) Brewster Academy [N.H.]
Josh Young, Drake, G, 6-1, 174, Sr., Lawton (Okla.) Lawton Christian High

Honorable Mention: Kevin Dillard, Southern Illinois; Clevin Hannah, Wichita State; Jake Kelly, Indiana State; Sam Maniscalco, Bradley; Harry Marshall, Indiana State; Toure’ Murry, Wichita State

Preseason Player of the Year - Osiris Eldridge, Illinois State

ACC Preseason Basketball Poll

Press Release — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 11:54:58 -0400

GREENSBORO, N.C. (theACC.com) – Everybody knows that coaches and fans can’t agree on anything. When it comes to predicting the order of finish in ACC men’s basketball, the media can’t seem to get on the same page, either.

For the first time in the 41-year history of preseason voting, there is a tie for No. 1. Duke, chosen first on 25 of 48 ballots cast, and North Carolina, recipient of 20 picks for the top spot, each finished with 545 points. Media members attending the ACC’s Operation Basketball on Sunday event cast the ballots.

While the tie is unprecedented, the selection of the Tar Heels and Blue Devils is far from rare. Either UNC (18 times) or Duke (12) had been chosen first in 30 of the previous 40 years of the informal (and non-binding) survey.

A similar oddity occurred in the voting for Player of the Year. Duke’s Kyle Singler, named on 19 ballots, is the predicted winner of the honor even though two other players outpolled him in the All-ACC selection process. Maryland guard Greivis Vasquez was an all-conference choice on 45 of the 48 ballots and Clemson forward Trevor Booker garnered 44 votes. Singler secured 43 votes for All-ACC but won the Player of the Year voting over Vasquez 19-15.

Booker’s Tigers (409 points) are the choice to finish third in the league standings. They edged Georgia Tech (387) and Maryland (378). Wake Forest (315) took sixth by a single point over Florida State and Virginia Tech (273), Boston College (251), Miami (135), Virginia (116) and N.C. State (76) rounded out the totals.

Georgia Tech forward Derrick Favors, considered by some as the top freshman in the nation, was the runaway winner in the Rookie of the Year contest. He earned 40 votes; UNC forward John Henson was named on the other eight ballots.

Voting was conducted by media members attending the league’s Operation Basketball event at the Grandover Resort, a conference, hotel, spa and golf facility located less than two miles from the site of the ACC’s founding in 1953.

Singler, a junior forward Medford, Ore., won the Rookie of the Year award in 2008 and earned second-team all-conference honors last year as the Devils won the ACC Tournament title for the eighth time in the past 11 years and the 17th overall.

Vasquez placed in the ACC’s top seven in five major statistical categories in 2008-09 while joining Singler on the second-team all-conference group.

Booker is the ACC’s top returnee in rebounds and blocked shots and another second-teamer from last year.

Virginia Tech guard Malcolm Delaney, the league’s top returning scorer from last year, also made the All-ACC team in Sunday’s preseason selections. North Carolina forward Ed Davis, who averaged 14 rebounds per 40 minutes played as a rookie, completed the squad.

The Blue Devils won or shared the regular-season title in seven of the 12 previous seasons in which they were predicted to do so. UNC’s success rate is 11-for-18 in that department.

All in all, media representatives have accurately predicted the winner in 20 of the 40 previous years and in five of the past six.

Favors would join a long line of Yellow Jackets to earn the Rookie distinction. Georgia Tech has produced 10 of the award’s first 24 winners.

Singler would be the 12th Blue Devil to win Player of the Year. The previous 11 have combined for 13 citations. Both totals are tops in the league.

2009-10 ACC Preseason Poll:
1. Duke, 545 (25)
1. North Carolina 545 (20)
3. Clemson, 409
4. Georgia Tech, 387 (2)
5. Maryland, 378
6. Wake Forest, 315 (1)
7. Florida State, 314
8. Virginia Tech, 273
9. Boston College, 251
10. Miami, 135
11. Virginia, 116
12. NC State, 76