The poll rankings were . . .
The Bulls also received 25 votes to win the MAC Men’s Basketball Tournament. Ten of the league's top men's basketball players were also selected to the preseason All-MAC teams for the East and West Divisions as announced by the league office.
ffalo is coming off a record-breaking season in 2017-18, when the Bulls won a school-record 27 games and finished 15-3 in Mid-American Conference play for their first ever outright regular season title.
After rolling through the MAC Tournament, the Bulls continued to rumble by registering one of the biggest upsets in the NCAA Tournament last season, defeating PAC-12 champion Arizona, 89-68, in the first round. The Bulls return three of their top four scorers from last year’s team, with all three averaging over 15.0 points per game in 2017-18.
In all, the Bulls return eight scholarship players from last year’s team, while adding in a talented group of newcomers to the squad. If the Bulls can pull off another championship in Cleveland, they would become the first MAC team ever to win four league titles in a five-year span.
Buffalo is followed in the East Division preseason predictions by Miami, while Kent State was selected to finish third and Ohio fourth. Akron was tabbed to finish fifth and Bowling Green sixth to round out this year’s selections.
Eastern Michigan returns 10 letter winners and four starters from last season's team that finished the year 22-13 overall and 11-7 in the Mid-American Conference, including its top three scorers in Minnie, Thompson, and Paul Jackson.
Ball State followed Eastern Michigan in the preseason rankings in second, while Toledo was selected to finish third. Western Michigan was picked to place fourth, while Northern Illinois and Central Michigan rounded out the West Division selections.
The East Division Preseason All-MAC squad is comprised of Buffalo's C.J. Massinburg, Nick Perkins & Jeremy Harris, Kent States Jaylin Walker and Bowling Green’s Demajeo Wiggins.