BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- Kentucky was predicted to win the 2016 Southeastern Conference men’s basketball championship in voting by a select panel of both SEC and national media members.
The Wildcats are the overall preseason favorite for the 11th time since the 1998-99 season.
LSU freshman Ben Simmons was the choice of the media for SEC Men’s Basketball Player of the Year. Simmons becomes just the second freshman chosen as preseason player of the year by the media, joining Kentucky’s Julius Randle in 2013-14. Florida’s Dorrian Finney-Smith, Kentucky’s Tyler Ulis (pictured), Texas A&M’s Danuel House and Vanderbilt’s Damian Jones also received votes in the Player of the Year voting.
House, Jones, Simmons and Ulis were each All-SEC First Team selections along with Kentucky’s Skal Labissiere and Ole Miss’s Stefan Moody.
(Points were compiled on a 14-13-12-11-10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis. Each media member also voted for a five-player All-SEC Team. Ties were not broken.)
The 2015-16 campaign begins November 13, with conference play set to begin January 2. The 2016 SEC Tournament will be March 9-13 at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn.
First Team All-SEC
Danuel House – Texas A&M, G, 6-7, 212, Sr., Fresno, Texas
Damian Jones – Vanderbilt, C, 7-0, 245, Jr., Baton Rouge, La.
Skal Labissiere – Kentucky, F, 6-11, 225, Fr., Port-au-Prince, Haiti
Stefan Moody – Ole Miss, G, 5-10, 179, Sr., Kissimmee, Fla.
Ben Simmons – LSU, F, 6-10, 225, Fr., Melbourne, Australia
Tyler Ulis – Kentucky, G, 5-9, 160, So., Lima, Ohio
Second Team All-SEC
Dorian Finney-Smith – Florida, F, 6-8, 220, Sr., Portsmouth, Va.
Malik Newman – Mississippi State, G, 6-3, 178, Fr., Jackson, Miss.
Charles Mann – Georgia, G, 6-5, 215, Sr., Alpharetta, Ga.
Alex Poythress – Kentucky, F, 6-8, 230, Sr., Clarksville, Tenn.
Tim Quarterman – LSU, G, 6-6, 190, Jr., Savannah, Ga.
Alex Caruso – Texas A&M, G, 6-5, 186, Sr., College Station, Texas
SEC Player of the Year: Ben Simmons, LSU
Preseason Media Poll Points
1. Kentucky 406
2. Vanderbilt 357
3. Texas A&M 344
4. LSU 333
5. Georgia 266
6. Florida 258
7. South Carolina 204
8. Mississippi State 203
9. Ole Miss 184
10. Auburn 168
11. Arkansas 118
12. Tennessee 86
13. Alabama 85
14. Missouri 33
UK Athletics Photo
