Rock Hill, S.C.----The South Atlantic Conference announce the preseason men's basketball poll and Players to Watch List Friday afternoon. Wingate is sixth in the preseason poll, with Jordan Miller and Chase McKey earning SAC Player to Watch accolades.

Lenoir-Rhyne is the preseason favorite, followed by Lincoln Memorial and Catawba. Tusculum and Carson-Newman tied for fourth, with Wingate, UVA Wise and Emory & Henry rounding out the top eight. Newberry checks in at number nine, while Coker, Mars Hill and Anderson round out the poll.

Miller averaged 9.9 points per game last season, while handing out a team-best 165 assists, good for 5.9 assists per contest. He added 4.4 rebounds per game to go along with 73 steals while shooting 77 percent at the free throw line. Miller ranked in the top five in the SAC in assists, steals and assist-to-turnover ratio. McKey joins the Bulldogs as a graduate transfer from Western Carolina where he played in 32 games over the last two seasons for the Catamounts.

Wingate opens the season Tuesday, Nov. 10 at Belmont Abbey at 7 p.m. The first home game for the Bulldogs is set for Saturday, Nov. 21 at 2 p.m. against Belmont Abbey, while opening league play a week later at home against UVA Wise.

SAC Men's Basketball Preseason Poll

Rnk	Team	Points
1	Lenoir-Rhyne (5)	115
2	Lincoln Memorial (5)	111
3	Catawba (1)	103
T4	Tusculum (1)	80
T4	Carson-Newman	80
6	Wingate	74
7	UVA Wise	56
8	Emory & Henry	44
9	Newberry	41
10	Coker	36
11	Mars Hill	34
12	Anderson	18

SAC Men's Basketball Players to Watch

Anderson: Kendall Davis, Kory Davis
Carson-Newman: Matt Bilbrey, Sean Lindsay
Catawba: Carson Daniel, Chase Daniel
Coker: Khalil Green, Kenney Rogers
Emory & Henry: Melchior Hughes, Isaac Hymes
Lenoir-Rhyne: Deuce Benjamin, Jaylen Subject
Lincoln Memorial: Kam Roberts, Trey Horton III
Mars Hill: Keenan Wilkins, Ashton Troutman
Newberry: Kayzzin McDowell, Brett Dent
Tusculum: Jordan Attia, Amari Allen
UVA Wise: Cy Hardy, Anderson Cummins
Wingate: Jordan Miller, Chase McKey