COLLEGEVILLE, Pa. – The Ursinus College men's basketball team was picked eighth in the Centennial Conference preseason poll announced by the conference this morning. Franklin & Marshall was tabbed the preseason favorite in a survey of conference coaches and sports information directors, receiving 14 of 20 first-place votes to top the poll with 156 points.
Despite capturing the Centennial Conference tournament crown and reaching the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament, Dickinson was forecasted for a runner-up finish, collecting four first-place votes and 144 total points. Johns Hopkins, last year's regular-season champion, gained the other two first-place selections to place third with 132 points, with Gettysburg (112) and McDaniel (98) filling out the top half of the preseason prognostication. Muhlenberg was next with 77 points, followed by Swarthmore (74), Ursinus (55), Washington College (31), and Haverford (21).
Despite losing their first seven games of the 2014-15 season en route to a 10-15 standing (7-11 CC), Ursinus has the pieces in place to make a turnaround under 16th-year head coach Kevin Small. The Bears bring back all five starters from a year ago, a quintet headlined by senior guard Malik Draper (Scranton, Pa./Scranton). Draper led the team in scoring (13.3 points per game) and was second in rebounding (5.8 per game) last season, adding team highs of 30 steals and 11 blocks. Junior guard Matt Knowles (Waverly, Pa./Scranton Prep) averaged 11.7 points per game.
Sophomore forward Joseph LoStracco (Chalfont, Pa./Archbishop Wood) looks to build on an impressive rookie campaign. He averaged 9.4 points and 5.5 rebounds per contest, both third on the team, and ranked seventh in the Centennial Conference in field-goal percentage (55.9%). LoStracco was especially effective on the offensive glass, racking up 61 offensive boards to place sixth in the conference. He'll be supported up front by classmate Remi Janicot (Paris, France/Hun School of Princeton), who posted 7.2 points and a team-best 7.4 rebounds last year. He was sixth in the Centennial Conference in total rebounds per game and total rebounds (179).
Sophomore Brian Rafferty (Harleysville, Pa./Lansdale Catholic) is back to orchestrate the offense after leading the Centennial Conference in assists as a freshman, when he dished out an even five per contest. Junior Patrick Mekongo (Yaounde, Cameroon/Pope John XIII) (4.4 PPG, 61.8% FG) and senior Mark Wonderling (Lederach, Pa./Souderton Area) (4.8 PPG, 3.4 RPG in 2013-14) are key returnees, and Small will seek contributions from a five-man freshman class in the quest to return to the playoffs for the first time since 2009-10.
Ursinus opens the 2015-16 campaign on Friday, November 13, when the Bears kick off the Scranton Tip-Off Tourney against Stevens at 5:30 p.m.
2015-16 Centennial Conference Preseason Poll
2015-16 Centennial Conference Men's Basketball Guide
2015-16 Centennial Conference Preseason Tip-Off Video Series