LANCASTER, Pa. – The Ursinus Bears men's basketball team was selected to finish fifth in the Centennial Conference Coaches' Preseason Poll, announced Wednesday by the conference.
The Bears will return to action in nearly two years after the 2020-21 season was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Johns Hopkins received 155 points and 11 of the 20 first-place votes to finish first in the poll. The Blue Jays are the defending Centennial Conference champions from the 2019-20 season. Swarthmore followed just behind in second with 151 points behind eight first-place votes, and Muhlenberg was placed third with 125 points and the final first-place vote. Franklin & Marshall came next with 94 points and the Bears rounded out the top five with 93 points. Haverford was placed sixth with 85 points and while Gettysburg was slotted in seventh with 69 points. Washington College was selected eighth with 62 points and Dickinson along with McDaniel rounded out the poll in 9th and 10th place, respectively.
The Bears finished the 2019-20 season with a 12-13 overall record and a 7-11 mark in conference action, falling just one game short of qualifying for the Centennial Conference tournament. Senior Ryan Hughes headlines the returners for the Bears entering the 2021-22 campaign. Hughes had a breakout sophomore season in 2019-20 as he earned All-Centennial Conference second team honors. Hughes led conference in scoring at 18.2 points per game and ranked sixth at 6.3 rebounds per contest. He also topped the Centennial with 113 made free throws and placed second in 3-point percentage (43.3), fourth in total field goals (150), and seventh in assists (74). Hughes was second on the team in assists, dishing out 3.0 per game. Hughes scored at least 20 points in 12 games for the Bears, posting three double-doubles in the process
Seniors Matt McMahon and Peyton Vostenak will also look to make an impact in the Bears lineup after appearing in 15+ games in the 2019-20 season.
Ursinus will open the season on Saturday, November 13th when they will host Rosemont at 1 p.m.