Arizona State picked to finish 11th in Pac-12 men’s basketball
Oct 21, 2016, 8:31 AM | Updated: 11:16 am
(AP Photo/Ralph Freso)
The Pac-12 Conference is holding its annual Media Day for men’s basketball in San Francisco.
The festivities kicked off Friday morning with the release of the preseason media poll.
The Oregon Ducks were tabbed to win the Pac-12, as Dana Altman’s team received 23 of 27 first-place votes. It’s the first time Oregon has ever been picked to win the conference championship in the 28-year history of the preseason poll. The Arizona Wildcats, coached by Sean Miller, were picked to finish second and garnered the other four first-place tallies.
Bobby Hurley’s Arizona State Sun Devils, who are coming off a 15-17 campaign last year, were picked to finish 11th by the conference’s media. That’s where ASU finished last season, posting a 5-13 conference record and finishing ahead of only Washington State.
ASU returns its leading scorer, guard Tra Holder, from last year’s team. Holder, who is heading into his junior season, averaged 14.2 points per game in Hurley’s first season. Joining Holder in the backcourt will be Shannon Evans, a dynamic scorer who transferred from Buffalo, following Hurley to the desert when he took the job in April of 2015.
In case you’re wondering, Pac-12 media have predicted the correct conference winner 14 times in 24 tries. Last season, Arizona was the preseason pick, and the Wildcats finished tied for third while fourth-place pick Oregon actually took home the conference crown.
Pac-12 Men’s Basketball Preseason Poll
1. Oregon Ducks (23)
2. Arizona Wildcats (4)
3. UCLA Bruins
4. California Golden Bears
5. Colorado Buffaloes
6. Washington Huskies
7. USC Trojans
8. Utah Utes
9. Oregon State Beavers
10. Stanford Cardinal
11. Arizona State Sun Devils
12. Washington State Cougars