INDIANAPOLIS - The Great Midwest Athletic Conference (GMAC) has released the 2019-20 Men's Basketball Preseason Coaches Poll presented by Under Armour, and Tiffin has been slotted 10th to begin the season.
Walsh, who won the conference tournament in 2018-19 after finishing second during the regular season, was selected atop this year's poll with 117 points and seven first-place votes. Last year's regular-season champion Findlay followed closely behind in second at 114 points and five first-place votes, with Cedarville (97), Hillsdale (88), and Ohio Dominican (80) rounding out the top five.
Tiffin earned 38 points in the poll, narrowly missing out on moving up one or two spots as Malone was ninth at 40 points and Alderson Broaddus eighth with 43 points.
Last year, the Dragons also finished 10th in the conference with a mark of 6-14 (10-18 overall).
There will be plenty of room for improvement this season, as second-year head coach Tom Church brings a bevy of fresh faces to the squad with seven transfers and four freshman joining the Dragons.
Only five members of the 2018-19 team return, two of whom were starters a year ago in junior Joshua Williams (fifth in the GMAC at 17.5 ppg) and senior Austin Schaub (7.4 ppg, 2.5 a/to).
Other returners include senior Jarell Taylor and sophomores Thomas Hickman and Jaden Terry.
The Dragons will tip off their season with an exhibition game at IUPUI on Oct. 23. After another exhibition contest at Bowling Green early in November, the regular season will get underway on Nov. 9 and 10 as Tiffin faces Missouri-St. Louis and Maryville while hosting the GMAC-GLVC Crossover. Conference play will begin on Dec. 5 when TU travels south to visit Trevecca Nazarene.
2019-20 GMAC Men's Basketball Preseason Coaches Poll
- Walsh - 117 Points (7 1st-place votes)
- Findlay - 114 Points (5 1st-place votes)
- Cedarville - 97 Points
- Hillsdale - 88 Points
- Ohio Dominican - 80 Points
- Lake Erie - 76 Points
- Kentucky Wesleyan - 64 Points
- Alderson Broaddus - 43 Points
- Malone - 40 Points
- Tiffin - 38 Points
- Trevecca Nazarene - 22 Points
- Ohio Valley - 13 Points