Busting Brackets
Fansided

ASUN Basketball: Preseason rankings for 2018-19

By Logan Butts

ORLANDO, FL - MARCH 16: Brandon Goodwin #0 of the Florida Gulf Coast Eagles dribbles the ball in the second half against the Florida State Seminoles during the first round of the 2017 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Amway Center on March 16, 2017 in Orlando, Florida. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)
ORLANDO, FL - MARCH 16: Brandon Goodwin #0 of the Florida Gulf Coast Eagles dribbles the ball in the second half against the Florida State Seminoles during the first round of the 2017 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Amway Center on March 16, 2017 in Orlando, Florida. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
1 of 4
Next
CHARLOTTE, NC – MARCH 16: The Lipscomb Bisons bench reacts at the start of their game against the North Carolina Tar Heels during the first round of the 2018 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Spectrum Center on March 16, 2018 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)
CHARLOTTE, NC – MARCH 16: The Lipscomb Bisons bench reacts at the start of their game against the North Carolina Tar Heels during the first round of the 2018 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Spectrum Center on March 16, 2018 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images) /

ASUN Basketball returns this season with a pair of new teams in the mix and a potential opening at the top of the conference up for grabs.

No. 9 – North Alabama 

2017-18 Record: 15-13 (10-10) in the Gulf South Conference of Division II

Finish: First round loss in GSC Tournament 

Leading Returning Scorer: Kendall Stafford – 15.6 

Top Nonconference Games: Pitt, Gonzaga, Saint Louis

UNA mostly sits in the bottom spot due to how unknown their abilities are compared to the rest of the teams in the ASUN. The Lions were a mediocre DII team last season, so the transition to DI could be tough. And although they bring back their two leading scorers from last season (Stafford and Kendarius Smith), the rest of the team is pretty green. UNA could surprise everyone and compete from the jump, but until we see them on the court against DI competition we will not know for sure.

No. 8 – Stetson

2017-18 Record: 12-20 (4-10) 

Finish: First round loss in ASUN Tournament 

Leading Returning Scorer: Abayomi Iyiola – 11.1 

Top Nonconference Games: at Missouri State, at USC, at Duke, at UCF, vs UNC Asheville 

The Hatters will be starting over from scratch as they lost all five starters from last season, including the program’s all-time leading scorer Divine Myles. However, Stetson did not really light the world on fire last season, so maybe a fresh start was needed. The Hatters will rely a lot on transfers, former benchwarmers, and Ayiola to make big strides in the ASUN this season.

Home/Mid Major Conferences