RSC Men's Basketball Preseason Coaches' Poll: IU East picked as favorite
NEW ALBANY, Ind. -- IU East is picked as the overall favorite in the 2017-18 River States Conference Men's Basketball Preseason Coaches' Poll released by the league office at RiverStatesConference.com. Also selected by the conference coaches was an RSC Men's Basketball Preseason All-Conference Team.
The preseason poll and preseason all-conference team were voted on by the conference's 13 head coaches. There are six teams in the RSC East and seven in the RSC West. The coaches' poll predicted the teams overall top to bottom of all 13 teams in the conference and also by division. The preseason all-conference team identified the top 10 players in the conference this preseason.
IU East was the top vote-getter out of the 13 teams overall in the conference and also the favorite in the RSC East Division. IU Southeast is picked second overall and is predicted first in the RSC West Division.
RSC men's basketball had three teams make it to the NAIA Division II Men's Basketball National Championship last year, and that is reflected in this year's preseason poll. IU East leads the way coming off a record of 28-8 overall, an RSC Tournament title and a trip to the final eight of the national tournament a year ago. The Red Wolves received 11 of 13 first-place votes in the overall poll and 12 of 13 first-place votes to win the RSC East. They ended last year ranked No. 6 in the nation.
IU Southeast, which was the RSC regular-season champion and RSC Tournament runner-up at 24-7 overall, received two first-place votes in the overall ballot. The Grenadiers are the favorites in the RSC West with 12 of 13 first-place votes there. IU Southeast made the national tournament as well and ended the year ranked No. 23 in the country.
WVU Tech, which was 23-9 last year and reached the national tournament, is picked third in the overall poll and second in the RSC East. The Golden Bears were in the NAIA DII Top 25 for much of the season and ended the year "receiving votes".
Four of the top five teams in the overall poll are from the RSC East Division. University of Rio Grande (13-18 in 2016-17) comes in fourth overall in the conference and third in the division, just ahead of Ohio Christian University (21-15), which is fifth overall and fourth in the division. Rio Grande received one first-place vote to win the RSC East.
Asbury (Ky.) University (16-14) is picked sixth overall and second in the RSC West. The Eagles earned one first-place vote in their division. Brescia (Ky.) University (12-17) and Alice Lloyd (Ky.) College (12-18) were picked seventh and eighth overall and as the third- and fourth-place teams in the division.
Rounding out the overall poll were IU Kokomo ninth, Point Park (Pa.) University 10th, Cincinnati Christian University 11th, Carlow (Pa.) University 12th and Midway (Ky.) University 13th.
The 10 players on the RSC Men's Basketball Preseason All-Conference Team come from 10 different schools. Seven of them are seniors and the other three are juniors. Returning players from last year's postseason all-conference teams were voted upon for this honor.
The following are the are the preseason polls and preseason all-conference team.
2017-18 RSC MEN'S BASKETBALL PRESEASON COACHES' POLL (Oct. 19, 2017)
(First-Place Votes in Parenthesis)
| School | Votes |
| 1. IU East (11) | 155 |
| 2. IU Southeast (2) | 146 |
| 3. WVU Tech | 129 |
| 4. Rio Grande (Ohio) | 121 |
| 5. Ohio Christian | 101 |
| 6. Asbury (Ky.) | 100 |
| 7. Brescia (Ky.) | 81 |
| 8. Alice Lloyd (Ky.) | 78 |
| 9. IU Kokomo | 72 |
| 10. Point Park (Pa.) | 69 |
| 11. Cincinnati Christian | 49 |
| 12. Carlow (Pa.) | 32 |
| 13. Midway (Ky.) | 29 |
RSC MEN'S BASKETBALL EAST DIVISION PRESEASON POLL
(First-Place Votes in Parenthesis)
| School | Votes |
| 1. IU East (12) | 72 |
| 2. WVU Tech) | 57 |
| 3. Rio Grande (Ohio) (1) | 52 |
| 4. Ohio Christian | 40 |
| 5. Point Park (Pa.) | 29 |
| 6. Carlow (Pa.) | 17 |
RSC MEN'S BASKETBALL WEST DIVISION PRESEASON POLL
(First-Place Votes in Parenthesis)
| School | Votes |
| 1. IU Southeast (12) | 84 |
| 2. Asbury (Ky.) | 64 |
| 3. Brescia (Ky.) | 54 |
| 4. Alice Lloyd (Ky.) | 52 |
| 5. IU Kokomo | 51 |
| 6. Cincinnati Christian | 32 |
| 7. Midway (Ky.) | 20 |
2017-18 RSC MEN'S BASKETBALL PRESEASON ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM
| Name | Position | Class | School |
| Elisha Boone | G | Sr. | WVU Tech |
| Jacoby Claypool | G | Sr. | IU East |
| Trent Elliott | G | Sr. | IU Kokomo |
| Dillon Geralds | G/F | Jr. | Brescia (Ky.) |
| Will Hill | G | Sr. | Rio Grande (Ohio) |
| Blake Walsman | F | Jr. | Cincinnati Christian |
| Demetrius Stanton | G | Sr. | IU Southeast |
| Trenton Thompson | F | Jr. | Asbury (Ky.) |
| Gavin Rajahpillay | G | Sr. | Point Park (Pa.) |
| Charlie Scharbo | F | Jr. | Carlow (Pa.) |