American Athletic Conference Reveals Preseason Men's Basketball Poll, All-Conference Teams
Oct 16, 2017 | Men's Basketball
PHILADELPHIA - The American Athletic Conference unveiled its 2017-18 men's basketball preseason poll and all-conference teams with Tulane chosen to finish 10th out of 12 schools in an announcement Monday morning during the #AmericanTipOff media day festivities in Philadelphia.
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The preseason poll, voted on by the conference's head coaches, tabbed Cincinnati as the favorite, as the Bearcats edged league newcomer Wichita State as the preseason favorite with 116 points to the Shockers' 115. Cincinnati received seven first-place votes, while Wichita claimed the other five.
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SMU junior guard Shake Milton was voted as the American Athletic Conference Preseason Player of the Year. UConn's Alterique Gilbert was selected as The American's Preseason Rookie of the Year for the second year in a row as he did not exhaust his freshman eligibility last season.
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The Green Wave's 2017-18 season begins Friday, Nov. 10 against LIU Brooklyn at 7 p.m., at Avron B. Folgeman Arena in the Devlin Fieldhouse, while conference play tips Thursday, Dec. 28 at Temple at 6:30 p.m. (CT).
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The 2018 American Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Championship will be held in Orlando, and the tournament will take place March 8-11 at the Amway Center. ESPN's family of networks will broadcast the first two days of action, before CBS carries both semifinals and the championship game.
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The Green Wave returns three starters and its top two scorers from last season, including 2017 American Conference Most Improved Player of the Year and senior Cameron Reynolds who averaged 17.0 points and 6.8 rebounds per game. Rising junior Melvin Frazier averaged 11.5 points and led the league in steals per game, while rising sophomore Ray Ona Embo was a two-time conference freshman of the week choice during his debut campaign.
 Follow Tulane men's basketball on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Follow Tulane Athletics on Twitter, FacebookÂ, Instagram and @TulaneAthletics on Snapchat.
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The preseason poll, voted on by the conference's head coaches, tabbed Cincinnati as the favorite, as the Bearcats edged league newcomer Wichita State as the preseason favorite with 116 points to the Shockers' 115. Cincinnati received seven first-place votes, while Wichita claimed the other five.
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SMU junior guard Shake Milton was voted as the American Athletic Conference Preseason Player of the Year. UConn's Alterique Gilbert was selected as The American's Preseason Rookie of the Year for the second year in a row as he did not exhaust his freshman eligibility last season.
Â
The Green Wave's 2017-18 season begins Friday, Nov. 10 against LIU Brooklyn at 7 p.m., at Avron B. Folgeman Arena in the Devlin Fieldhouse, while conference play tips Thursday, Dec. 28 at Temple at 6:30 p.m. (CT).
Â
The 2018 American Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Championship will be held in Orlando, and the tournament will take place March 8-11 at the Amway Center. ESPN's family of networks will broadcast the first two days of action, before CBS carries both semifinals and the championship game.
Â
The Green Wave returns three starters and its top two scorers from last season, including 2017 American Conference Most Improved Player of the Year and senior Cameron Reynolds who averaged 17.0 points and 6.8 rebounds per game. Rising junior Melvin Frazier averaged 11.5 points and led the league in steals per game, while rising sophomore Ray Ona Embo was a two-time conference freshman of the week choice during his debut campaign.
 Follow Tulane men's basketball on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Follow Tulane Athletics on Twitter, FacebookÂ, Instagram and @TulaneAthletics on Snapchat.
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2017-18 AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE
PRESEASON COACHES' POLL
Rank  Team (First-Place Votes)     Pts.
1.        Cincinnati (7)                        116
2.        Wichita State (5)                    115
3.        UCF                                      93
4.        SMU                                      91
5.        UConn                                   79
6.        Houston                                72
7.        Temple                                   68
8.        Tulsa                                     52
9.        Memphis                                36
10.      Tulane                                   30
11.      ECU                                       24
12.      USF                                       16
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2017-18 AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE
PRESEASON INDIVIDUAL HONORS
Preseason Player of the Year         Â
Shake Milton, G, Jr., SMUÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â
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Preseason Rookie of the Year        Â
Alterique Gilbert, G, r-Fr., UConn         Â
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Preseason All-Conference Teams
First Team    Â
Shake Milton, G, SMUÂ Â
Jalen Adams, G, UConn
Rob Gray, G, Houston Â
Landry Shamet, G, Wichita State         Â
B.J. Taylor, G, UCFÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â
                      Â
Second Team
Gary Clark, F, Cincinnati          Â
Junior Etou, F, Tulsa   Â
Jacob Evans, G/F, Cincinnati   Â
Tacko Fall, C, UCFÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â
Kyle Washington, F, CincinnatiÂ
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Players Mentioned
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