Men Picked Third in SEC Preseason Poll

Birmingham, Ala. – The Aggie basketball team was predicted to finish third in the upcoming 2016 Southeastern Conference men's basketball campaign during voting by a select panel of both SEC and national media members.
 
Additionally, a pair of Aggie student-athletes received pre-season All-SEC recognition by the media as senior Danuel House was tabbed as first-team all-league while senior Alex Caruso garnered second-team accolades.
 
Kentucky topped the preseason poll while LSU freshman Ben Simmons was the choice of the media for SEC Men's Basketball Player of the Year.
 
Last season, the Aggies were picked ninth in the preseason poll of the league's media only to finish tied for third in the final SEC standings with an 11-7 conference ledger. Texas A&M advanced to the second round of the 2015 NIT, along the way capturing 21 victories to hit the 20-win plateau for the eighth time in 11 seasons.
 
House, a 6-foot-7 guard, emerged as one of the SEC's most explosive and consistent scorers last year during his first season at Texas A&M. The Fresno, Texas, native garnered first team All-SEC honors after ranking fourth among all league players in scoring during league games at 16.2 points per game.
 
For the entire season, House led the Aggies and ranked ninth in the SEC by scoring 14.8 points per contest while shooting 41.7 percent from the floor and 40.0 percent from 3-point range. He scored 20 or more points in seven games last year, including three outings with 25 or more points.
 
Caruso, a three-year letterwinner from College Station, enjoyed another impressive season as a junior in 2014-15 and earned honorable mention All-SEC accolades from the Associated Press. Caruso started all 33 games for the Aggies, averaging 31.5 minutes per contest and increasing his scoring average for the second straight season, finishing with a 9.1 point-per-game pace for the season inducing a 10.1 scoring average during league play.
 
The 6-foot-5 guard dished out 182 assists for an average of 5.5 per contest becoming the first player to pace the SEC in assists for two consecutive seasons since Nick Calathes of Florida in 2008 and 2009. Caruso also led the SEC in steals with 69 (2.1 per contest).
 
House along with Florida's Dorrian Finney-Smith, Kentucky's Tyler Ulis and Vanderbilt's Damian Jones also received votes in the Player of the Year voting. Jones, Simmons and Ulis joined House on the All-SEC First Team along with Kentucky's Skal Labissiere and Ole Miss's Stefan Moody.
 
The 2015-16 campaign begins November 13, when the Aggies host USC-Upstate at Reed Arena with conference play set to begin January 2. The 2016 SEC Tournament will be March 9-13 at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn.
 
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Preseason Media Poll
Rk    School                      Pts
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
 
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Preseason All-SEC TEAMS
 
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
 
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