Auburn picked to finish 12th in SEC by media

The Auburn men's basketball team was picked to finish 12th in the SEC this season by the conference's media. The preseason media poll and all-conference picks were released Monday afternoon.

Auburn received 95 points in the poll, finishing ahead of South Carolina (54) and Mississippi State (37). Kentucky was picked to win the SEC regular-season title, receiving 17 first-place votes. Florida was voted in second place with five first-place votes. Missouri and Tennessee were picked third and fourth, respectively, and each received one vote to win the conference title.

The complete results of the preseason poll are as follows (first-place votes in parenthesis; total points follow):

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

Missouri junior guard Phil Pressey was tabbed as the SEC's preseason player of the year by the media. Last season, Pressey averaged 10.3 points, 6.4 assists, 3.3 rebounds and 2.1 steals in 32 minutes per game for the Tigers. He received All-Big 12 honors from various outlets and was named to the conference's all-tournament team.

First Team All-SEC
B.J. 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.

The 2012-13 SEC Basketball Media Day will be held Thursday, Oct. 25 at the Wynfrey Hotel in Hoover. Auburn opens its season with a home exhibition game against Victory University on Tuesday, Oct. 30 at 7 p.m. CT. The Tigers begin regular-season play at home Friday, Nov. 9 against IPFW. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. CT.