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Photo by: DSPics.com
Photo by: DSPics.com

Bulldogs picked third in NEC Preseason Poll

SMITHFIELD, R.I. – The Bryant University men's basketball team has been picked to finish tied for third in the Northeast Conference Preseason Coaches' Poll announced Thursday as part of NEC Virtual Media Day.

Bryant's preseason rank is it's highest since being slated to finish third in 2016-17. The Bulldogs are coming off a season in which they posted their fourth-highest win total in DI program history (15 wins) and finished eighth in the league standings.

The Black and Gold welcome back the dynamic sophomore duo of Michael Green III and Charles Pride, and one of the nation's elite rim defenders in redshirt senior Hall Elisias. Green III, the reigning NEC Rookie of the Year, and Pride combined to win six NEC Rookie of the Week honors last winter. Each averaged over eight points per game, while Elisias was one of the nation's premier shot blockers, finishing with a DI single-season record 78 blocks.

Fairleigh Dickinson received six first-place votes to finish first in the preseason poll, while Long Island received the final four first-place votes. The Bulldogs tied for third with Mount St. Mary's and were followed by St. Francis Brooklyn in fifth. Saint Francis U, Merrimack, Wagner, Central Connecticut and Sacred Heart round out the poll.