Men's Basketball | 10/27/2021 12:42:00 PM
MELBOURNE, Fla. - The Barry Buccaneers placed sixth in the Sunshine State Conference men's basketball pre-season poll on Wednesday.
The SSC men's basketball coaches selected Nova Southeastern to win a second regular-season championship. The Sharks took the top spot following 95 total points and five first-place votes in the preseason poll.
Saint Leo finished second in the ranking with 88 points and three first-place votes. Embry-Riddle (78 points), Florida Southern (71 points), and Lynn (65 points) finished third through fifth, and each earned a first-place vote. The Bucs settled into the middle of the poll with 62 points and are followed in the voting by Tampa (40 points) and Rollins (39 points). Palm Beach Atlantic (27 points), Florida Tech (24 points), and Eckerd (16 points) hold the final three positions in the ranking.
2021-22 SSC MEN'S BASKETBALL SCHEDULE
Due to CoVID-19, the 2020-21 SSC basketball season went forward with only seven teams and no conference standings. Saint Leo capped off the shortened season as conference tournament champions, a first for the program.Â
The last time the league played a full-season, Florida Southern won the regular-season championship. The Moccasins program earned its 24th regular-season title by finishing 2019-20 at 18-2 in the conference standings. FSC also captured the SSC tournament title for the 25th time. Before canceling the 2020 Division II Men's Basketball Championship, the NCAA announced that FSC, Nova Southeastern, Palm Beach Atlantic, and Embry-Riddle earned regional bids.
Barry is led by a pair of Second-Team All-SSC picks in guard Jake Kakar and forward Juntinas Marcinkevicius. Kakar led the Bucs in scoring in the abbreviated season last year at 15.7 points per game. He shot 42.7 percent from the floor and 32.0 percent from three-point range. Marcinkevicius averaged a double-double with 13.6 points and 11.9 rebounds per game. He also shot 90.5 percent from the foul line. Guards Toru Dean and Marcelo Perez and forward T.J. Smith also return for the BUcs.
The 2021-22 season tips off with all Embry-Riddle on the road against Missouri Western State on Saturday, November 6th. The remaining league teams get started Friday, November 12th, or Saturday, November 13th. Conference play begins with five games on Saturday, November 20th.
Barry starts the season with a two-game series at Albany State in Georgia on Nov. 12-13. The tip off conference hosting Florida Southern on Nov. 20.
Below are the full results of the 2021-22 SSC preseason coaches' poll. Coaches are not allowed to vote for their teams (points: 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1, first-place votes in parentheses).
2021 SSC MEN'S BASKETBALL PRESEASON COACHES POLL
| Rank |
School |
Total Points |
| 1 |
Nova Southeastern |
95 (5) |
| 2 |
Saint Leo |
88 (3) |
| 3 |
Embry-Riddle |
78 (1) |
| 4 |
Florida Southern |
71 (1) |
| 5 |
Lynn |
65 (1) |
| 6 |
BARRY |
62 |
| 7 |
Tampa |
40 |
| 8 |
Rollins |
39 |
| 9 |
Palm Beach Atlantic |
27 |
| 10 |
Florida Tech |
24 |
| 11 |
Eckerd |
16 |
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  See Also: SSC All-Americans | All-SSC Teams | SSC Champions | National Champions
