Utes Picked Eighth in Preseason Media Poll

10/11/2018 8:43 AM | Men's Basketball

Utah coming off 23-12 campaign in 2017-18

SAN FRANCISCO – The Utah men's basketball team has been picked to finish eighth in a vote of media members who cover the league, the Pac-12 Conference office announced on Thursday at Pac-12 Men's Basketball Media Day. Utah garnered a total of 122 points in the poll.

The Utes, who are coming off a 23-12 overall campaign in 2017-18, also went 11-7 in conference play and finished in a tie for third-place in the league standings a year ago, after being picked to finish seventh in last season's media poll. Utah would earn an at-large bid to the NIT tournament, where they went 4-1, falling only to Penn State in the NIT Championship game at Madison Square Garden in New York.

For the second time in the past three seasons, Oregon was picked to win the league title after earning a total of 288 points and receiving 16 of the possible 25 first-place votes. UCLA earned six first-place votes and was picked to finish second overall with 264 points. Washington rounded out the top-three, receiving two first-place votes and a total of 249 points.

Arizona (205 points) earned the final first-place vote, but was picked to finish fourth in the league standings. This marked the first time since the 2015-16 preseason poll that at least four teams earned at least one first-place vote. USC (203, fifth), Arizona State (165, sixth) and Colorado (161, seventh) were each picked to finish ahead of the Utes, respectively. Stanford (109), Oregon State (102), California (45) and Washington State (37) rounded out the compete preseason rankings.

Utah has finished tied or ahead of its preseason prediction the past seven years. When Utah joined the league in 2011-12, the Utes were picked to finish 12th, but finished 11th overall. Utah was again picked to finish 12th in 2012-13, but earned a 10th-place finish that season. After being picked to finish ninth in 2013-14, the Utes tied for eighth-place and then in 2014-15 after earning a second-place nod, Utah would go on and finish in a tie for second-place.

The Utes were picked to finish third in 2015-16, but finished in sole possession of second-place that season. A year after, Utah was tabbed to finish in eighth in 2016-17, but earned a fourth-place finish and third-consecutive first-round bye in the Pac-12 Tournament. After finishing 20-12 overall in 2016-17, the Utes were picked to finish seventh last season, but opened Pac-12 play with a pair of road wins and would go on to finish in a tie for third-place with a league record of 11-7.

The Pac-12 regular season tips off with seven games on Tuesday, Nov. 6, but the Utes' first game will be played later that week on Thursday, Nov. 8, when the home squad hosts Maine. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. MT at the Huntsman Center.

Ute fans will have a pair of opportunities to preview the team before the regular season begins, as the team will host Night with the Runnin' Utes next Wednesday, Oct. 17, at 7 p.m. Utah's lone exhibition contest will be played Thursday, Nov. 1, when the squad takes on College of Idaho at the Huntsman Center. Tip-off is set for 6 p.m. and the contest will be televised live on the Pac-12 Networks.

The Utes return a total of nine players from last season's NIT national runner-up team, which includes starters Sedrick Barefield and Parker Van Dyke. Both Barefield and Van Dyke will be two of three seniors for the Utes, as Utah added Novak Topalovic to the squad as a graduate transfer from Idaho State. Utah juniors returning to the team are Jayce Johnson, Beau Rydalch and Marc Reinengier. Donnie Tillman and Christian Popoola return to the team as the lone two sophomores on the squad, while Vante Hendrix and Brooks King will suit up as redshirt freshmen this upcoming season.

Utah welcomes a total of nine newcomers to the team. Along with Topalovic, Charles Jones, Jr., transfers as a junior to the team from College of Southern Idaho, while Brandon Morley joins the team after playing at nearby Salt Lake Community College in 2016-17. Incoming freshmen on the team include Naseem Gaskin, Both Gach, Kevin Kremer, Timmy Allen, Riley Battin and Lahat Thioune.

2018-19 PAC-12 MEN'S BASKETBALL PRESEASON MEDIA POLL
TEAM *(first-place votes)*		POINTS
1.	Oregon (16)	288 points
2.	UCLA (6)	264
3.	Washington (2)	249
4.	Arizona (1)	205
5.	USC	203
6.	Arizona State	165
7.	Colorado	161
8.	Utah	122
9.	Stanford	109
10.	Oregon State	102
11.	California	45
12.	Washington State	37