Men's Basketball Tabbed Preseason GAC Favorites

DURANT, Okla. – Southeastern men's basketball will open the 2023-24 season as the Great American Conference favorites to earn a conference championship after topping the preseason poll released on Thursday.
 
The Savage Storm collected 116 total points in the poll, earning nine of the possible 12 first-place votes.
 
Arkansas Tech was picked second in the poll with 103 points and a first-place nod, just ahead of Southern Arkansas who was third with 101 points and a first-place vote.
 
Henderson State was fourth in the ranking with the remaining first-place selection and 81 total points, with East Central next in fifth with 72 points and Ouachita Baptist rounding out the top half of the league with 70 points.
 
Oklahoma Baptist was picked seventh with 61 points, followed by Southern Nazarene in eighth and Northwestern Oklahoma State in ninth.
 
Arkansas-Monticello was 10^th with 42 points, with Southwestern Oklahoma State, and Harding rounding out the poll.
 
SE closed out the 2022-23 season tied for place with an 18-10 record and a 15-7 mark in league play, matching Southern Arkansas who posted a 15-7 conference mark and a 22-10 overall record.
 
The Storm returns seven of its top eight scorers from a season ago and four players who started 19 or more games.
 
Jet Sternberger returns after earning first-team All-GAC honors last season when he averaged 17.3 ppg while shooting 46.7 percent form the field and adding 4.5 rebounds per outing.
 
Brennen Burns was a second team All-GAC selection last season after putting up 15.5 ppg while shooting 52.8 percent from the floor and leading the conference with 4.8 assists per game.
 
SE also returns Kody Clouet and Kyle Leslie who each averaged more than 11 points per game last season, while Leslie returns as the team's top rebounder.