No. 1 SUNY Cortland
Last season finish: SUNYAC First Round
SUNY Cortland returns a large portion of their roster, including two of their top scorers from last season in, James Morales, Justin Cooper. The duo of scoring from Morales and Cooper combined for 32.2 points per game. The Red Dragons lost in the first round of the SUNYAC Championships 61-59 to Buffalo State and we could possibly see them once again in this year’s tournament.
No. 2 Buffalo State
Last season finish: SUNYAC Semifinal
Similar to SUNY Cortland, Buffalo State returns a good chunk of last year’s roster that, despite finishing 6th in the regular season standings, gave every team a headache to play against. Mike Henry returns, who scored 15.3 points per game for the Bengals. Sophomore Sir.Quintin Campbell received SUNYAC honors this week, as he was named Men’s Basketball Player of the Week.
No. 3 Plattsburgh State
Last season finish: Missed Playoffs
Seniors Eli Bryant and Eric Mack combined for 28.7 points per game last season and are on a mission this season after just missing the playoffs at No. 7 in the SUNYAC standings. Notable wins last season for the Cardinals include sweeping SUNYAC runner-up SUNY Oneonta and a road win over SUNY Geneseo. Even though they dropped both contests to Oswego State, those losses combined for a 3-point differential. Outside of the Lakers, the Cardinals are the only other SUNYAC team to receive votes in the D3basketball.com preseason poll.
No. 4 Oswego State
Last season finish: SUNYAC Champions
Even with the rough start and big loss of scoring production from last year’s senior class, the Lakers still bring back a good core from last season’s championship team. Seniors Ian Schupp and Jamir Ferebee are two of head coach Jason Leone’s favorite options. Tyler Pierre, when aggressive with his shot selection at the center position, has shown to put up big numbers with his rebounding ability on offense and defense. The Lakers still will need their potential unsung heroes Liam Sanborn and Tim Marshall to produce all season if they expect be back in the SUNYAC running.
No. 5 The College at Brockport
Last season finish: SUNYAC Semifinal
Besides the return of last season and this season’s leading scorer senior Hamed Shamseldin, there were questions going into the season with who would be his sidekicks. The Golden Eagles have answered questions early with their 3-1 start, including an 89-83 win over No. 19 in the nation Hobart College. The trio of Justin Summers, Josh Nelson and Tyler Collins have opened the floor for the offense as they combine for nearly 35 points per game. They come in as the hottest team in SUNYAC with their current three-game win streak and a team to look at all season.
No. 6 SUNY Oneonta
Last season finish: SUNYAC Runner-up
The other Red Dragons of SUNYAC lost two of the best players in the conference last season, but are off to a 3-1 start. With four players averaging double figures for SUNY Oneonta, their doubt of depth this season has been diminished. Dwayne Freeman and Matthew Boyd both expected to carry the load for the Red Dragons as they look to avenge losing in last year’s SUNYAC Championship.
