Appalachian State University men's basketball was picked to finish fourth in the Southern Conference North division, the league office announced on

Thursday.
The Mountaineers, who received the fourth-place nod from the SoCon coaches and media, picked up 36 points in the coaches poll and 72 points in the media poll. Division rival Samford also picked up 72 points in the media poll to tie the Apps for fourth.
Last year's division champions Davidson (South) and UNCG (North) were picked to repeat as division champions in both polls. The Wildcats received 11 first-place votes from the coaches and 28 from the media while the Spartans earned seven first-place votes from the coaches and 18 from the media.
Elon and Western Carolina split the vote for second-place in the North as the Phoenix got the nod from the coaches while the Catamounts were favored to finish second by the media. College of Charleston received the second-place nod in the South division from both the coaches and media.
Davidson, the defending Southern Conference Tournament champion, picked up a league-high three preseason all-SoCon selections including Preseason Player of the Year De'Mon Brooks.
The Southern Conference member institutions begin regular-season play on Nov. 9 and league play begins on Nov. 28. Appalachian State opens its season on Nov. 9 against Montreat.

2012-13 SoCon Preseason Coaches Poll
North Division
Team (1st Place Votes) - Total
1. UNCG (7) - 59
2. Elon (3) - 55
3. Western Carolina (2) - 52
4. Appalachian State - 36
5. Chattanooga - 26
6. Samford - 18

South Division
Team (1st Place Votes) - Total
1. Davidson (11) - 65
2. College of Charleston (1) - 54
3. Georgia Southern - 48
4. Wofford - 32
5. Furman - 27
6. The Citadel - 15

2012-13 Preseason All-Conference Team
Andrew Lawrence, College of Charleston
Trent Wiedman, College of Charleston
Mike Groselle, The Citadel
De'Mon Brooks, Davidson
Nik Cochran, Davidson
Jake Cohen, Davidson
Jack Isenbarger, Elon
Eric Ferguson, Georgia Southern
Trevis Simpson, UNCG
Trey Sumler, Western Carolina

2012-13 Preseason Player of the Year
De'Mon Brooks, Davidson

Photo Courtesy: Nathan Healy, ASU Athletics
 

2012-13 SoCon Preseason Media Poll
North Division
Team (1st Place Votes) - Total
1. UNCG (18) - 164
2. Western Carolina (9) - 144
3. Elon (3) - 119
t-4. Appalachian State - 72
t-4. Samford - 72
6. Chattanooga - 59

South Division
Team (1st Place Votes) - Total
1. Davidson (28) - 176
2. College of Charleston - 134
3. Georgia Southern (2) - 120
4. Wofford - 101
5. Furman - 62
6. The Citadel - 37