Despite both representing the same school, UNF’s men’s and women’s basketball teams couldn’t have more different outlooks in the ASUN Conference preseason polls.

News came from the conference’s Atlanta headquarters over the past week that the annual preseason polls had been released. This includes the Media Poll and the Coaches Poll.

One important disclaimer is necessary with this subject: preseason polls do not correlate with actual success. A team could be picked to win their conference, and still go on to finish last.

The placing in the poll for each respective Ospreys’ team is a reflection of last year’s performance. The women’s team is coming off of a very promising season, while the men’s team suffered a bit of a rough slate during a rebuilding year.

The women’s team’s 14-11 is not indicative of the promise the squad showed. Despite coming up short in the ASUN tournament, multiple big wins showed what this group is capable of. They look to reload this year, while adding even more talent.

The ladies placed second in the Coaches Poll, while coming in third in the Media Poll. This matches the team’s highest rankings in these polls, the best posting since 2012-13. 

Meanwhile, the men’s team is in the upper half of the polls, but not nearly as high as their female counterparts. They placed sixth in the Media Poll and seventh in the Coaches Poll. One interesting note is that they received one first-place vote in the Coaches Poll, meaning a coach in the conference chose the Ospreys to win the conference.

Ultimately, these polls have to be taken with a grain of salt. They provide a decent benchmark for expectations going into the season, but that’s all they really are. Only time—and results—will truly tell.

___

For more information or news tips, or if you see an error in this story or have any compliments or concerns, contact editor@unfspinnaker.com.