 AIKEN, S.C.--Clayton State was picked as
the preseason favorite in the race for 2005-06 Peach Belt Conference
men’s basketball regular season championship while USC Aiken was
tabbed 10th. According to a poll of the league’s 11 head coaches
release by the conference office on Thursday, Clayton State picked up
91 total points including five first-place votes. The Pacers received
24 points including one vote for seventh, two for eighth place, and seven
for ninth place.
Columbus State was a close second with 83 points and one first-place tally while
defending PBC champion USC Upstate came in at number three with two first-place
votes amassing 77 points. Lander was fourth with 69 points and two first-place
votes while Francis Marion, who is ninth, received one first-place vote to make
five different teams appearing on the top of the 11 coaches’ ballots.
USC Aiken returns eight of 12 letterwinners including three starters off last
year’s squad that went 7-21 overall and 2-14 in the Peach Belt Conference
placing fifth in the North Division. But when the Pacers take the floor in 2005-06,
a new era begins as Vince Alexander takes over the reigns as the sixth coach
in the school’s history.
Alexander, the conference’s only new coach in 2005-06, went 89-74 in six
successful seasons at Mansfield University, a Division II program that competes
in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC). The top two scorers from
last year are gone, but along with the eight returners, Alexander welcomes in
six newcomers including a pair of 6-8 and 6-9 post players to give the Pacers
a presence inside.
The Peach Belt Conference will feature a new look this year as well. Gone are
Kennesaw State, the 2004 NCAA Division II national champions, as well as North
Florida to the Division I ranks of the Atlantic Sun Conference. Joining the PBC
is North Georgia, a perennial power in NAIA competition, as they begin their
transition to Division II and although they cannot compete in postseason play,
the Saints are eligible for the regular season crown.
Gone also are the North
and South Divisions for the first time since the 1996-97 season, thus all 11
members will play 20 conference games.
After exhibition games at South Carolina on Thursday, November 10 and at Georgia
State on Friday, November 11, the Pacers will open up the 2005-06 season on
Tuesday, November 15 when they host Catawba College at 7:30 PM.
2005-06 Peach Belt Conference
Men’s Basketball Preseason Poll
Team...........................................Points
1. Clayton State (5).......................91
2. Columbus State (1)...................83
3. USC Upstate (2)........................77
4. Lander (2).................................69
5. Augusta State...........................66
6. Armstrong Atlantic State...........58
7. GC&SU......................................51
8. North Georgia............................38
9. Francis Marion (1).....................36
10. USC Aiken.............................24
11. UNC Pembroke........................12
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