As the Racers begin their 92nd season of collegiate basketball and 69th in the OVC, they've been picked as the top team in the OVC West, ahead of Eastern Illinois, Austin Peay, UT Martin, SIUE and Southeast Missouri. Belmont was the top pick in the OVC East.
MSU's Bryce Jones was named to the OVC Preseason Team after he had an outstanding junior campaign, his first with the Racers after a two-year stint at Jones County JC. Jones, from Brooklyn, N.Y., was the 19th leading scorer in the OVC (12.7 ppg) and the fifth-best assist man (4.2 apg). He was also an excellent free throw shooter, ranking first in the OVC and 24th nationally at 87 percent (122-of-140) and at one point, hit 23 in a row. Jones had his first double-double as a Racer at Houston (Dec. 2) with 14 points and 10 assists and flirted with a triple-double (March 3) against Eastern Illinois at the OVC Tournament when he helped the Racers win with 14 points, eight rebounds and nine assists.
2016-17 Preseason OVC Men's Basketball Predicted Order of Finish
Overall OVC Champion: Belmont (16 first-place votes)
Other Teams Receiving Overall First-Place Votes: Tennessee State (6), Eastern Kentucky (1), Morehead State (1)
East Division
1. Belmont (16 first-place votes) – 126 points
2. Tennessee State (6) - 106
3. Morehead State (1) - 98
4. Tennessee Tech - 62
5. Eastern Kentucky (1) - 60
6. Jacksonville State - 40
West Division
1. Murray State (21 first-place votes) – 131 points
2. Eastern Illinois - 95
3. Austin Peay (2) - 88
4. UT Martin (1) - 82
5. SIUE - 54
6. Southeast Missouri – 42
2016-17 Preseason All-OVC Men's Basketball Team
Taylor Barnette, Belmont
Evan Bradds, Belmont
Antonius Cleveland, Southeast Missouri
Cornell Johnston, Eastern Illinois
Bryce Jones, Murray State
Aleksa Jugovic, Tennessee Tech
Wayne Martin, Tennessee State
Nick Mayo, Eastern Kentucky
Tahjere McCall, Tennessee State
Xavier Moon, Morehead State
Josh Robinson, Austin Peay
Preseason Player of the Year: Evan Bradds, Belmont
