Men's Basketball Tabbed Eighth in MEC Preseason Poll.

The preseason poll from the Mountain East Conference in Men's basketball was released on Monday as voted by the league coaches. West Liberty was voted as the top team in the league, Charleston was picked second, Fairmont State was selected third, West Virginia State is selected fourth, Glenville State is fifth in the poll, Concord was selected sixth, Wheeling is seventh, NDC is tabbed eighth, Davis and Elkins is ninth, Alderson Broaddus is 10th, while Frostburg State and West Virginia Wesleyan round out the poll.

Coach Mark Richmond gave his initial thoughts:

" I am excited to get the year started. The preseason poll was interesting, it speaks to the strength of our league. We have three teams that are at the top of the league consistently . After that from four to five all the way down to the bottom of our league we have a bunch of teams that are in the same boat, "Richmond explained.

NDC went 8-8 in the pandemic shortened conference only season that concluded in March. Richmond spoke about the season getting going this weekend and being back to some form of normalcy:

" I am excited for the team and having a more normal road trip than we have had. We have had no non- conference games in over a year. We are excited to play two quality opponents (Slippery Rock and Seton Hill.) I am excited to see how our team prepares."

Richmond talked about how unique this trip is, as well as having limited film:

" It is very unique in many ways this weekend. We have not done much scouting and don't really have an idea of what the teams rosters are going to look like this weekend with those two teams not having played any games in a year. It is a challenge to win two games in 24 hours no matter who the opponent is. This weekend provides us a unique opportunity . We will have 80 minutes of basketball and two games to figure out the right combinations. The goal obviously is to go and get two wins."

The Falcons will open the season Friday when they battle Slipper Rock at 5PM, before playing Seton Hill on Saturday. Both games will be played on Slippery Rock's campus.

MEC Preseason Poll:

1. West Liberty 116 (6)

2. Charleston 110 (4)

3. Fairmont State 105 (2)

4. West Virginia State 86

5. Glenville State 85

6. Concord 60

7. Wheeling 55

8. NDC 52

9. Davis & Elkins 45

10. Alderson Broaddus 41

11. Frostburg State 26

12. West Virginia Wesleyan 11