NC State picked to finish 6th in preseason ACC men’s basketball poll

The preseason media predictions are in, and NC State has been picked to finish sixth in the ACC this season. Duke is picked to win the ACC, though UNC, Louisville, and Virginia each received double-figure first place votes. That’s the top four in order, with Florida State rounding out the top five.

Markell Johnson earned preseason second-team All-ACC honors. I was mildly surprised not to see him on the first team, but he was the highest vote-getter of the second-team guys. I don’t think it’ll surprise any of us if Markell has a season worthy of first-team honors.

ACC Preseason Order of Finish (first-place votes in parentheses)

1. Duke (51), 1564
2. North Carolina (19), 1493
3. Louisville (29), 1448
4. Virginia (12), 1405
5. Florida State, 1157
6. NC State, 1038
7. Notre Dame, 915
8. Syracuse, 910
9. Miami, 768
10. Pitt, 577
11. Clemson, 564
12. Georgia Tech, 437
13. Boston College, 382
14. Virginia Tech, 334
15. Wake Forest, 328

Preseason All-ACC TeamFirst Team
Jordan Nwora, Louisville, 95
Tre Jones, Duke, 89
Cole Anthony, North Carolina, 81
John Mooney, Notre Dame, 51
Mamadi Diakite, Virginia, 49

Second Team
Markell Johnson, NC State, 39
Vernon Carey Jr., Duke, 19
Chris Lykes, Miami, 18
Garrison Brooks, North Carolina, 11
Trent Forrest, Florida State, 11

Preseason ACC Player of the Year
Jordan Nwora, Louisville, 55
Cole Anthony, North Carolina, 31
Tre Jones, Duke, 19
John Mooney, Notre Dame, 3
Mamadi Diakite, Virginia, 2
Markell Johnson, NC State, 1

Preseason ACC Freshman of the Year
Cole Anthony, North Carolina, 89
Vernon Carey Jr., Duke, 8
Wendell Moore Jr., Duke, 5
Casey Morsell, Virginia, 3
Cassius Stanley, Duke, 3
Matthew Hurt, Duke, 3