MSU Basketball picked to finish last in SEC by media

As expected, Mississippi State's 2012-13 basketball squad was picked to finish last in the SEC by the media yesterday. The 2012-13 version of the roundball dogs returns just 5 players total, 2 of which have game experience. State's roster will feature 12 new faces this fall, the most by far in the league. There were no representatives from MSU on the All-SEC team, but then again there were only two from the entire SEC West: Arkansas' BJ Young and Marshawn Powell.

On the flip side of things, Kentucky was selected to win the league again this season, following their National Championship run of 2011-12. The Wildcats also featured two players on the All-SEC teams that haven't even seen the floor for them yet in Nerlens Noel and Alex Poythress. Here's the full release from the SEC:

Birmingham, Ala. -- Kentucky was predicted to win the 2013 Southeastern Conference men's basketball championship in voting by a select panel of both SEC and national media members. Each SEC school selected media members that cover their team and additional media from across the nation were selected by the conference office to form the voting panel.

The Wildcats, who are coming off a 38-2 season that saw them post a 16-0 record in the SEC on their way to winning their eighth national championship, earned 17 first-place votes. Florida earned five first-place votes while Missouri and Tennessee each received one vote.

Last week Kentucky was ranked third nationally in the preseason ESPN/USA Today Coaches' hoops poll while Florida was 10th and Missouri was 17th. Tennessee and Georgia were among the teams receiving votes.

Missouri junior Phil Pressey was the choice of the media for SEC Men's Basketball Player of the Year with six votes. Florida senior Kenny Boynton finished second (five votes) while Arkansas' BJ Young, Kentucky's Nerlens Noel and Tennessee's Jarnell Stokes each received three votes. Arkansas' Marshawn Powell, Missouri's Michael Dixon, Jr. and Tennessee's Jeronne Maymon received one vote each in the Player of the Year voting.

Boynton, Noel, Pressey, Stokes and Young were each All-SEC First Team selections.

Dixon and Maymon were joined on the All-SEC Second team by Arkansas' Marshawn Powell, Florida's Patric Young, Georgia's Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Kentucky's Alex Poythress.

Points were compiled on a 14-13-12-11-10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis. Each media member also voted for a five-player All-SEC Team.

The 2012-13 SEC Media Preseason Poll tips off SEC Basketball Media Day, October 25 at the Wynfrey Hotel in Hoover, Alabama. The 2012-13 season begins November 9, with conference play set to begin January 8. The 2013 SEC Tournament will be held March 13-17 at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn.

First Team All-SEC
BJ Young - Arkansas, G, 6-3, 180, So., St. Louis, Mo.
Kenny Boynton - Florida, G, 6-2, 190, Sr., Pompano Beach, Fla.
Nerlens Noel - Kentucky, F, 6-10, 228, Fr., Everett, Mass.
Phil Pressey - Missouri, G, 5-11, 175, Jr., Dallas, Texas
Jarnell Stokes - Tennessee, F, 6-8, 270, So., Memphis, Tenn.

Second Team All-SEC
Marshawn Powell - Arkansas, F, 6-7, 240, Jr., Newport News, Va.
Patric Young - Florida, C, 6-9, 249, Jr., Jacksonville, Fla.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope - Georgia, G, 6-5, 205, So., Greenville, Ga.
Alex Poythress - Kentucky, F, 6-7, 239, Fr., Clarksville, Tenn.
Michael Dixon, Jr. - Missouri, G, 6-1 , 190, Sr., Kansas City, Mo.
Jeronne Maymon - Tennessee, F, 6-7, 260, Sr., Madison, Wis.

SEC Player of the Year: Phil Pressey, Missouri

Preseason Media Poll
Kentucky (17) 328
Florida (5) 310
Missouri (1) 286
Tennessee (1) 269
Arkansas 226
Alabama 222
Ole Miss 186
Georgia 149
Texas A&M 122
Vanderbilt 120
LSU 116
Auburn 95
South Carolina 54
Mississippi State 37

First-Place Votes in Parentheses