Men's Basketball | 10/27/2016 3:34:00 PM

Place Team (first place votes) Total 1. Sam Houston State (6) 138 2. Stephen F. Austin (6) 137 3. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (1) 123 4. Northwestern State 93 5. Houston Baptist 91 6. Abilene Christian 75 7. Southeastern Louisiana 66 8. McNeese 64 9. New Orleans 63 10. UIW 58 11. Central Arkansas 49 12. Lamar 33 13. Nicholls 24

Place Team (first place votes) Total 1. Sam Houston State (7) 137 2. Stephen F. Austin (5) 135 3. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (1) 123 4. Houston Baptist 92 5. Northwestern State 77 6. Abilene Christian 75 7. McNeese 68 8. Southeastern Louisiana 65 9. Central Arkansas 64 10. New Orleans 62 11. UIW 54 12. Lamar 34 13. Nicholls 28

FRISCO, Texas – The ACU Wildcats have been picked to finish sixth in this year's Southland Conference by both the league's coaches and sports information directors in polls released Thursday by the league office.The Wildcats – who finished 13-18 overall last year and 8-10 in the league – received 75 points in both polls to finish just ahead of Southeastern Louisiana (66 points) in the coaches' poll and McNeese (68 points) in the SID poll. Both of the polls were extremely tight after the top three of Sam Houston State, Stephen F. Austin and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in each poll.In the coaches' poll, Northwestern State finished fourth with 93 points, followed by Houston Baptist with 91 and ACU with 75. In the SID poll, HBU was fourth with 92 points, followed by Northwestern State with 77 and ACU with 75.Sam Houston State, which had a league-high three players chosen first or second team preseason all-conference, was picked to win the league title by both the coaches and the SIDs. The Bearkats received six of 13 first-place votes in the coaches' poll and seven in the SID poll, coming in just ahead of four-time defending league champion Stephen F. Austin as the preseason favorite."We were able to show some improvement last year as a program, and we've got a lot of guys back, so hopefully we're able to take another step in our growth this season," ACU head coachsaid of his team's predicted finish. "I'm glad the improvement we made last season was recognized by people around the league, but we've got a lot of work to do to make that prediction come true. At the end of the season, nobody's going to care where you were picked in the preseason poll, and we understand that."The Wildcats return a young, exciting core group of players in sophomores(first team preseason all-conference),and, as well as seniorand juniorsand. They also welcome in junior transferand freshmenandACU will open its season on Friday, Nov. 11, when it hosts Schreiner at Moody Coliseum. The Wildcats' first NCAA Division I opponents of the season will be on Thursday, Nov. 17, in Durham, N.H., when they take on the New Hampshire Wildcats.Sam Houston State received six first-place votes and 138 total points in the coaches' poll, edging Stephen F. Austin, also with six first-place votes and 137 points. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi received one first-place vote and 123 points for a third-placed prediction by the coaches. In the SID's preseason poll, SHSU received seven first-place votes and 137 points to SFA's five first-place votes and 135 points. The sports information directors also rated Texas A&M-Corpus Christi as the preseason third-place team with a single first-place tally and 123 points.Sam Houston State, the third-place regular season finisher and Southland tournament semifinalist last year, also advanced to its third straight CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament in 2015-16. The Bearkats return all five starters and eight letter winners from last season's 18-16 squad (12-6 SLC), and seventh-year head coach Jason Hooten's team opens the season Nov. 12 at home against LeTourneau University.Stephen F. Austin, setting a Southland record with a fourth outright league title in 2015-16, and its second perfect 18-0 league mark in three years, defeated third-seeded West Virginia in the first round of the 2016 NCAA Tournament, its second Big Dance win in three seasons. The Lumberjacks, who have also won three straight Southland Tournament championships, return two starters and five letter winners under first-year head coach Kyle Keller, making his SFA coaching debut at Kentucky on Nov. 11.The 2016-17 season begins with all 13 men's teams in action during the opening Nov. 11-13 weekend, and following the conclusion of regular season games on March 4, the 37Southland Conference Tournament will played for the 10consecutive year in Katy, Texas, March 8-11.