Kentucky picked first, LSU last in SEC basketball preseason poll

Birmingham, Ala. –  Kentucky was predicted to win the 2017 Southeastern Conference men’s basketball championship in voting by a select panel of both SEC and national media members.

The Wildcats are the overall preseason favorite for the 13th time since the 1998-99 season.

Voting for SEC Men’s Basketball Player of the Year resulted in a three-way tie with Georgia senior forward Yante Maten, Missouri freshman forward Michael Porter, Jr. and Texas A&M sophomore forward Robert Williams finishing as the media favorites. Alabama’s Collin Sexton, Florida’s KeVaughn Allen, Kentucky’s Hamidou Diallo, and Mississippi State’s Quinndary Weatherspoon also received votes in the Player of the Year voting.

Allen, Maten, Diallo, Porter and Williams were each All-SEC First Team selections. Sexton and Weatherspoon were second team picks along with Kentucky’s Kevin Knox, Ole Miss’s Terence Davis and Deandre Burnett, Texas A&M’s Tyler Davis and Vanderbilt’s Matthew Fisher-Davis.

Points were compiled on a 14-13-12-11-10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis. Each media member also voted for a five-player All-SEC Team. Ties were not broken.

The 2017-18 campaign begins November 10, with conference play set to begin December 30. The 2018 SEC Tournament will be March 7-11 at Scottrade Arena in St. Louis, Mo.

Player of the Year (tie)
Yante Maten – Georgia
Michael Porter, Jr. – Missouri
Robert Williams – Texas A&M

Preseason All-SEC
KeVaughn Allen – Florida, G, 6-2, 193, Jr., Little Rock, Ark.
Yante Maten – Georgia, F, 6-8, 243, Sr., Pontiac, Mich.
Hamidou Diallo – Kentucky, G, 6-5, 198, R-Fr., Queens, N.Y.
Michael Porter, Jr. – Missouri, F, 6-10, 215, Fr., Columbia, Mo.
Robert Williams – Texas A&M, F, 6-10, 241, So., Oil City, La.

Second Team All-SEC
Collin Sexton – Alabama, G, 6-3, 190, Fr., Mableton, Ga.
Kevin Knox – Kentucky, F, 6-9, 215, Fr., Tampa, Fla.
Terence Davis – Ole Miss, G, 6-4, 201, Jr., Southaven, Miss.
Deandre Burnett – Ole Miss, G, 6-2, 192, Sr., Miami Gardens, Fla.
Quinndary Weatherspoon – Mississippi St., G, 6-4, 205, Jr., Canton, Miss.
Tyler Davis – Texas A&M, C, 6-10, 266, Jr., Plano, Texas
Matthew Fisher-Davis – Vanderbilt, G/F, 6-5, 186, Sr., Charlotte, N.C.

Preseason Media Poll

1. Kentucky
2. Florida
3. Texas A&M
4. Alabama
5. Missouri
6. Arkansas
7. Vanderbilt
8. Georgia
9. Auburn
10. Ole Miss
11. South Carolina
12. Mississippi State
13. Tennessee
14. LSU