NC State basketball picked to finish eighth in the ACC
As expected, NC State men’s basketball was picked to finish in the middle of the pack of the ACC. The preseason media poll was released Thursday afternoon, and NCSU is eighth out of 15 teams.
Head coach Kevin Keatts enters his second season with the Wolfpack after guiding them to a surprising 11-7 ACC record a year ago, which put it in a three-way tie for third place in the league, which far exceeded preseason expectations of being picked 12th. That was part of a 21-12 overall mark that saw NC State earn an at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament, where it fell to Seton Hall in the first round.
However, it is a totally different NC State squad this winter. Only three players from that team returned, and one of them — freshman guard Braxton Beverly — is out for about a month at least after having surgery Tuesday on his fractured left hand.
ACC Operation Basketball 2018-19 Preseason Poll
(First-place votes in parenthesis)
1. Duke (52) — 1,709
2. Virginia (47) — 1,699
3. North Carolina (20) — 1,641
4. Syracuse (1) — 1,268
5. Virginia Tech — 1,187
6. Clemson (1) — 1,148
7. Florida State — 1,127
8. NC State — 885
9. Notre Dame — 859
10. Miami — 816
11. Louisville — 735
12. Boston College — 568
13. Georgia Tech — 324
14. Wake Forest — 313
15. Pitt — 241
Preseason All-ACC
First Team
Luke Maye, North Carolina (111)
Tyus Battle, Syracuse (86)
RJ Barrett, Duke (76)
Kyle Guy, Virginia (62)
Ky Bowman, Boston College (58)
Second Team
Zion Williamson, Duke (55)
De’Andre Hunter, Virginia (32)
Justin Robinson, Virginia Tech (29)
Ty Jerome, Virginia (17)
Marcquise Reed, Clemson (16)
ACC Preseason Player of the Year
Luke Maye, North Carolina (50)
RJ Barrett, Duke (22)
Zion Williamson, Duke (15)
Tyus Battle, Syracuse (11)
Ky Bowman, Boston College (7)
Kyle Guy, Virginia (5)
De’Andre Hunter, Virginia (4)
Ty Jerome, Virginia (2)
Justin Robinson, Virginia Tech (2)
Cam Reddish, Duke (1)
T.J. Gibbs, Notre Dame (1)
Jaylen Hoard, Wake Forest (1)
ACC Preseason Freshman of the Year
RJ Barrett, Duke (66)
Zion Williamson, Duke (43)
Cam Reddish, Duke (4)
Jaylen Hoard, Wake Forest (3)
Coby White, North Carolina (2)
Jalen Carey, Syracuse (1)
Nate Laszewski, Notre Dame (1)
Jairus Hamilton, Boston College (1)
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