Oct 30, 2014 2 min read

The California University men’s basketball team was picked to finish seventh in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Western Division Thursday.

Gannon was the preseason favorite in the PSAC West with six first-place votes after returning four starters from a team that advanced to the semifinals of the NCAA Atlantic Region Tournament. Indiana received the remaining three first-place votes and finished second in the preseason poll, while Mercyhurst, Slippery Rock and Pitt-Johnstown round out the top five in the poll.

Defending league champion East Stroudsburg was the overwhelming favorite in the PSAC East and received seven first-place votes. The Warriors return four starters from a team that led the conference with 30 overall victories.

West Chester earned the other first-place vote and ranked second in the poll after reaching the championship game of the PSAC Tournament for the second time in three years. Lock Haven, Bloomsburg and Kutztown completed the top five in the PSAC East.

The Vulcans are coming off back-to-back losing seasons for the first time in over three decades after finishing with an 11-16 record last year. Cal returns three starters from a team that won its final two games in the regular season to earn a berth in the PSAC Tournament.

Under 19th-year head coach Bill Brown, Cal opens the regular season with a tip-off tournament Nov. 14-15 in Indiana, Pennsylvania. The Vulcans will face Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association member Johnson C. Smith and Mountain East Conference member Urbana in the season-opening tournament.