Wednesday the preseason coaches & media polls were released ahead of the 2017-18 WAC basketball season.
The CSU Bakersfield men's basketball team was selected to finish 3rd by coaches & 4th by media. Grand Canyon (GCU), in the school's first season of postseason eligibility, was picked 1st in both polls with New Mexico State (NMSU) picked 2nd. Utah Valley finished above the Runners in the media poll with the Wolverines receiving three first place votes.
CSUB's Damyine Durham, Shon Briggs and Brent Wrapp were selected to the 1st & 2nd team All-WAC teams while Joshua Braun from GCU was picked as the preseason player of the year.
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Last season the Runners won the WAC regular season title before falling 70-60 in the WAC final to NMSU. Despite missing the NCAA Tournament, CSUB made history by becoming the first #8 seed to ever advance to the Final Four of the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) held at Madison Square Garden. The team pulled off upset wins over California, Colorado State & UT Arlington before eventually falling in New York City to Georgia Tech.
The year before, CSUB beat NMSU thanks to Dedrick Basile's three at the buzzer which sent the program to their first ever NCAA Tournament appearance. The 2015-16 team was knocked out in the first round by #2 Oklahoma.
The '17/18 season tips off inside the Icardo Center on November 10th against Whittier College. Road games to Arizona, UCLA & Arkansas highlight the Runners non-conference schedule.
The women's team was selected 2nd/3rd by coaches & media respectively. Their first game is November 7th against Stanislaus State.
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