Arkansas Tech University is picked to finish in the top third of the Great American Conference men’s basketball standings during the 2015-16 season.
The Wonder Boys are fourth in a preseason poll of league head coaches that was released by the GAC office on Wednesday, Oct. 14.
Harding University is the preseason favorite to win the 2015-16 GAC men’s basketball championship. The Bisons earned four first-place votes and 109 points in the voting to edge out East Central University (2nd, 107 points, three first-place votes) and Ouachita Baptist (3rd, 100 points, four first-place votes) as the coaches’ pick to take the title.
Arkansas Tech earned one first-place vote and 96 points in the balloting.
Southwestern Oklahoma State University (5th, 74 points), Southern Nazarene University (6th, 69 points) and Southern Arkansas University (7th, 67 points) form a distinct second tier in the minds of GAC coaches.
Southeastern Oklahoma State University (8th, 45 points), the University of Arkansas-Monticello (9th, 43 points), Henderson State University (10th, 36 points), Northwestern Oklahoma State University (11th, 29 points) and Oklahoma Baptist University (12th, 17 points) round out the poll.
The Wonder Boys were 18-14 overall during the 2014-15 men’s basketball season. As the No. 5 seed, Arkansas Tech won the 2015 GAC Tournament championship to clinch its seventh consecutive appearance in the NCAA Division II Tournament.
Head coach Chad Kline and the Wonder Boys will begin their 2015-16 season on Friday, Nov. 13, by hosting Northern State University for a 5:30 p.m. non-conference game at Tucker Coliseum in Russellville.
