ROCK HILL, SC — The Carson-Newman men’s basketball team has been selected to finish seventh in the South Atlantic Conference in 2009-10 in a vote of the league’s nine coaches, SAC officials announced Wednesday.

C-N received 30 points in the poll. The Eagles, who led the SAC in scoring the last two seasons, return two starters, including senior point guard Jordan Dixon (Clinton, Tenn.). Dixon, who averaged 8.4 points per game in 2008-09 and was fourth in the SAC in assists with 119, received preseason second team All-SAC honors.

Catawba College, which has won back-to-back Food Lion SAC men's basketball tournament titles, is the preseason favorite to win the 2009-10 regular season crown.

The Indians received six first-place votes and 77 total points.

Catawba returns senior guard Antonio Houston, who has been the MVP of the conference tournament the last two years. Houston was named to the preseason All-Conference first team. Rob Fields, who averaged 15.9 points as Catawba's sixth man last year, joins Houston on the preseason All-Conference first team.

Tusculum College is picked to finish second in the coaches poll. The Pioneers received two first-place votes and 68 total points. Tusculum, which begins the season ranked sixth by the DII Basketball Bulletin preseason national poll, returns 2009 SAC Player of the Year and All-American Kyle Moore.

Moore was named to the preseason All-Conference first team, while forward Josh Bennett, who finished third in the league in rebounding last season, was named to the second team.

Lincoln Memorial University was picked to finish third. The Railsplitters received 63 total points.

Lincoln Memorial University starts the season with a pair of preseason All-Conference selections. D'Mario Curry, a first-team All-Conference pick last season after leading the Railsplitters in scoring, returns as a preseason first-team selection. Sophomore Desmond Johnson, who was named the SAC men's basketball Freshman of the Year last season after averaging 10.4 points and 6.2 rebounds, was named to the preseason All-Conference second team.

Lenoir-Rhyne University picked up the final first-place vote and received 58 total points for fourth place in the preseason poll. The Bears have won the last two regular-season championships, and five over the last seven years. During that span, the Bears have not finished lower than third in the conference standings.

Lenoir-Rhyne placed two returnees on the preseason All-Conference team. Forward D.J. Blackmon averaged 13.8 points last season and was named to the preseason All-Conference first team. Senior guard Marcus Hodges, who led the SAC last season in 3-point field goal percentage, was named to the second team.

Wingate University is the pick for fifth place in the coaches poll. The Bulldogs received 39 points.

Mars Hill College received 33 points for sixth place. The Lions placed a pair on the preseason All-Conference second team in senior guards Stoney Polite and Danny Sanders. Sanders averaged 16.8 points last season.

Brevard College comes in eighth in the poll with 24 points. The Tornados return senior forward Jonathan Whitson, a preseason All-Conference first-team selection. Last season, Whitson averaged 19.1 points and led the SAC in rebounding at 8.7 per game and was named All-Region by both the NABC and Daktronics.

Newberry College rounds out the poll with 13 points. Newberry, which finished tied for second last year, will be looking to rebuild under first-year coach Steve DeMeo and return just three players who saw playing time last year.

The 2009-10 season opens Sunday, Nov. 15, with Wingate hosting Armstrong Atlantic State. Five more teams open play on Monday, Nov. 16.

The 2010 Food Lion South Atlantic Conference tournament will begin on Wednesday, March 3 with quarterfinal games on campus sites. Winners advance to the semifinals on Saturday, March 6 at the Catawba Valley Community College Multipurpose Facility in Hickory, N.C. The championship game will be Sunday, March 7 at 2 p.m.

2009-10 Men's Coaches Preseason Poll
Poll (1st) Points
1. Catawba (6) 77
2. Tusculum (2) 68
3. Lincoln Memorial 63
4. Lenoir-Rhyne (1) 58
5. Wingate 39
6. Mars Hill 33
7. Carson-Newman 30
8. Brevard 24
9. Newberry 13

Men's Preseason All-Conference
FIRST TEAM
Jonathan Whitson, Brevard
Rob Fields, Catawba
Antonio Houston, Catawba
D.J. Blackmon, Lenoir-Rhyne
D'Mario Curry, Lincoln Memorial
Kyle Moore, Tusculum

SECOND TEAM
Jordan Dixon, Carson-Newman
Marcus Hodges, Lenoir-Rhyne
Desmond Johnson, Lincoln Memorial
Stoney Polite, Mars Hill
Danny Sanders, Mars Hill
Josh Bennett, Tusculum