Men's Basketball Picked to Finish Fifth in the ACC Preseason Poll

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- The University of Louisville men's basketball team was picked to finish fifth in the Atlantic Coast Conference, according to a vote of the media attending the league's annual 'Operation Basketball' earlier this week in Charlotte, N.C.

Louisville's Deng Adel and Quentin Snider were named to the preseason All-ACC second team. Last season, the Cardinals posted a 25-9 record, tied for second in the ACC and earned a No. 10 ranking in the final Associated Press poll. UofL is one of just four teams that have won 20 or more games in each of the last 15 seasons. The Cardinals have received an Academic Performance Rate Public Recognition Award each of the last five years, including posting a perfect score the last four years.

Defending Atlantic Coast Conference champion Duke leads the 2017-18 preseason media poll. The Blue Devils, who finished 28-9 last season, won the New York Life ACC Tournament and earned the program's 22nd consecutive NCAA Tournament berth, received 57 of 69 first-place votes in the preseason poll released Thursday.

Defending NCAA champion North Carolina (seven first-place votes) placed second in the predicted order of finish, followed by Notre Dame (four first-place votes), Miami (one first-place vote) and Louisville.

ACC preseason voters selected Virginia sixth, followed by Virginia Tech, Florida State and Georgia Tech. Syracuse was picked 10th, while Wake Forest, NC State, Clemson, Boston College and Pittsburgh rounded out the voting.

Notre Dame's Colson, of New Bedford, Massachusetts, was also voted the National Preseason Player of the Year by Blue Ribbon Basketball Yearbook. Colson finished strong at the end of the 2016-17 season, scoring at least 20 points in eight of his final 12 games. He finished the season averaging a double-double with 17.8 points and 10.1 rebounds per game. Colson led the conference in rebounding and ranked ninth among all scorers.

The regular season begins for all 15 ACC teams the weekend of November 10. In addition to an 18-game regular-season conference schedule, the 65th annual New York Life ACC Tournament will be played for the second consecutive year at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, tipping off with first round games on Tuesday, March 6, and concluding with the Saturday night championship game on March 10.

ACC Operation Basketball 2017-18 Preseason Poll
(First-place votes in parenthesis)
Team & Points
1. Duke (57) - 1020
2. North Carolina (7) - 921
3. Notre Dame (4) - 852
4. Miami (1) - 809
5. Louisville - 733
6. Virginia - 690
7. Virginia Tech - 549
8. Florida State – 519
9. Georgia Tech - 468
10. Syracuse - 420
11. Wake Forest - 378
12. NC State - 310
13. Clemson - 289
14. Boston College - 181
15. Pittsburgh – 141

2017-18 Preseason All-ACC Team
(votes in parenthesis)
First Team
Bonzie Colson, Notre Dame (64)
Grayson Allen, Duke (60)
Joel Berry II, North Carolina (58)
Marvin Bagley III, Duke (26)
Ben Lammers, Georgia Tech (25)

Second Team
Bruce Brown Jr., Miami (22)
Quentin Snider, Louisville (12)
Deng Adel, Louisville (12)
Josh Okogie, Georgia Tech (11)
Jerome Robinson, Boston College (11)

ACC Preseason Player of the Year
Bonzie Colson, Notre Dame (49)
Grayson Allen, Duke (9)
Joel Berry II, North Carolina (9)
Bruce Brown Jr., Miami (1)
Jerome Robinson, Boston College (1)

ACC Preseason Rookie of the Year
Marvin Bagley III, Duke (58)
Lonnie Walker IV, Miami (3)
Lavar Batts Jr., NC State (2)
M.J. Walker, Florida State (2)
Jalek Felton, North Carolina (1)
Aamir Simms, Clemson (1)
Oshae Brissett, Syracuse (1)
De'Andre Hunter, Virginia (1)

University of Louisville Athletics

Men's Basketball Picked to Finish Fifth in the ACC Preseason Poll

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Players Mentioned

Deng Adel

Quentin Snider

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