Oct. 29, 2008
IRVINE, Calif. - Coaches and media gathered in Irvine on Wednesday for the annual Big West Conference Basketball Media Day. The UC Davis men's basketball team is picked to finish fifth in the preseason coaches poll and seventh in the media poll. Cal State Northridge is the preseason favorite in both polls.
UC Davis received 28 points in the coaches poll, finishing above Cal Poly, UC Irvine. Long Beach State and UC Riverside. The order was the same in the media poll with the exception of Long Beach State and UC Irvine, who placed above the Aggies. UC Santa Barbara, Pacific and Cal State Fullerton occupied second through fifth, respectively, in both polls.
Eight of the nine coaches picked Cal State Northridge to finish first with UCSB garnering the only other first-place vote. A total of 20 media members participated in the media poll, and Cal State Northridge received 14 first-place votes. UC Santa Barbara picked up four such votes with Pacific receiving three. Cal State Fullerton also grabbed a first-place vote in the media poll.
"In some ways you can't put a lot of credence in preseason polls but there's another way of looking at it, and it's the respect the coaches have for the direction of our program," said UC Davis head coach Gary Stewart. "Obviously fifth is not where we'd like to finish, but it's certainly better than where we've been and it means we're heading in the right direction as we try to vault toward the top of the conference."
The media day also provided an opportunity to announce the Big West Preseason All-Conference Team. The contingent is made up of Josh Akognon (Cal State Fullerton), Anthony Brown (Pacific), Chris Devine (UC Santa Barbara), Donovan Morris (Long Beach State), Tremaine Townsend (Cal State Northridge) and Deon Tresvant (Cal State Northridge).
UC Davis is in its second full week of practice in preparation for the upcoming season. The Aggies play their first exhibition Nov. 4 against Bethany at The Pavilion. It's the first of two home exhibitions next week. All exhibitions are free and open to the public. UC Davis opens its season Nov. 14 at the World Vision Basketball Classic in Ames, Iowa, against host Iowa State.
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