Kentucky tops SEC preseason basketball poll

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Defending national champion Kentucky is the preseason favorite to win the Southeastern Conference title.

The Wildcats received 17 of the 24 first-place votes in balloting by a panel of media members despite losing six NBA draft picks, including national player of the year and No. 1 selection Anthony Davis. Kentucky went 38-2 last season and won all 16 SEC games, and coach John Calipari brought in a highly rated recruiting class.

Florida was first on five ballots, while Missouri and Tennessee got one first-place vote apiece. South Carolina is picked 13th among the 14 teams.

Missouri point guard Phil Pressey is preseason player of the year. His six votes outpaced Florida’s Kenny Boynton (five). Arkansas’ BJ Young, Tennessee’s Jarnell Stokes and Kentucky freshman Nerlens Noel each got three votes.

Those five are first-team preseason All-SEC picks. Second team was Arkansas’ Marshawn Powell, Florida’s Patric Young, Georgia’s Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Missouri’s Michael Dixon Jr. and Tennessee’s Jeronne Maymon.

SEC PRESEASON POLL

Preseason Media Poll

Team Pts

Kentucky (17) 328

Florida (5) 310

Missouri (1) 286

Tennessee (1) 269

Arkansas 226

Alabama 222

Mississippi 186

Georgia 149

Texas A&M 122

Vanderbilt 120

LSU 116

Auburn 95

South Carolina 54

Mississippi State 37

First-Place Votes in Parentheses

SEC Player of the Year: Phil Pressey, Missouri

First Team All-SEC

BJ Young, Arkansas, G;Kenny Boynton, Florida, G; Nerlens Noel, Kentucky, F; Phil Pressey, Missouri, G; Jarnell Stokes, Tennessee, F.

Second Team All-SEC

Marshawn Powell, Arkansas, F; Patric Young, Florida, C; Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Georgia, G; Alex Poythress, Kentucky, F; Michael Dixon Jr., Missouri, G; Jeronne Maymon, Tennessee, F.