Men's Basketball Picked 6th in AAC; Rose Tabbed as Preseason First Team

PHILADELPHIA - Temple has been picked to finish sixth in the 2018-19 Preseason American Athletic Conference Coaches Poll while junior guard Quinton Rose has become the first Owl named to the Preseason All-Conference First Team in the league's six-year history. The coaches voted UCF as the favorite to win the league title with the Knights garnering six of a possible 11 first-place votes and 114 points to edge Cincinnati (107 pts) for the No. 1 spot.

Houston (103 pts) was picked to finish third and the Cougars were followed by Memphis (85), UConn (75), Temple (74), SMU (63), Wichita State (60), Tulsa (48), Tulane (23), ECU (22) and USF (18).

It is the fourth time the Owls have been picked to finish sixth, including the 2015-16 season when Temple won the regular season conference title.

Rose, the Owls' leading returning scorer (14.9 ppg) is not only the first Temple player named to the preseason AAC First Team, but he is one of only three Owls to garner preseason honors. The other two Temple players selected preseason all-conference were Will Cummings and Quinton DeCosey, who were second team picks in 2014-15.

Besides Rose, Temple returns eight other letterwinners, including three starters, from last year's squad that posted a 17-16 record and advanced to the 2018 NIT.

American Athletic Conference 2018 Preseason Poll & Awards

Coaches Preseason Poll
Team (1st-Place Votes) (Points)
1. UCF (6) 114
2. Cincinnati (3) 107
3. Houston (2) 103
4. Memphis (1) 85
5. UConn 75
6. Temple 74
7. SMU 63
8. Wichita State 60
9. Tulsa 48
10. Tulane 23
11. ECU 22
12. USF 18

Preseason Player of the Year
B.J. Taylor, guard – UCF

Preseason Freshman of the Year
Nate Hinton, guard – Houston

Preseason All-Conference
First Team
Jalen Adams, guard – UConn *
Jarron Cumberland, guard – Cincinnati
Jeremiah Martin, guard – Memphis
Quinton Rose, guard – Temple
B.J. Taylor, guard – UCF

Second Team ^
Corey Davis, Jr., guard – Houston
Tacko Fall, center – UCF
Jarrey Foster, guard – SMU
Markis McDuffie, forward – Wichita State
Jahmal McMurray, guard – SMU
Sterling Taplin, guard – Tulsa

*unanimous selection
^extra member due to tie in voting

Temple University Athletics

Men's Basketball Picked 6th in AAC; Rose Tabbed as Preseason First Team

Players Mentioned

Will Cummings

Quinton Rose

Related Videos