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Men’s Basketball Picked To Finish Third in SEC Preseason Polls

Watford, Smart also named to Preseason All-SEC teams

By Zach Junda
NCAA Basketball: Texas A&M at Louisiana State Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports

LSU’s 2020-21 men’s basketball season is less than two weeks away from tipping off and with the new season on the horizon, the preseason predictions and accolades are rolling in.

Will Wade’s squad was picked to finish third in the SEC by the media behind only Tennessee and Kentucky. LSU finished third in the shortened 2019-20 season after winning the league in 2018-19. The rest of the media’s picks are as follows:

  1. Tennessee
  2. Kentucky
  3. LSU
  4. Florida
  5. Alabama
  6. Arkansas
  7. Auburn
  8. South Carolina
  9. Ole Miss
  10. Missouri
  11. Texas A&M
  12. Mississippi State
  13. Georgia
  14. Vanderbilt

In other news, the preseason accolades continue for both sophomore forward Trendon Watford and junior point guard Javonte Smart. Watford and Smart were voted to the preseason All-SEC teams, with Watford making the first team and Smart making the second.

Watford is LSU’s leading returning scorer and rebounder. He is joined by Alabama’s John Petty, Florida’s Keyontae Johnson, Kentucky’s Brandon Boston Jr., and Tennessee’s John Fulkerson on the First-Team. Johnson was also selected as the SEC’s player of the year.

Smart will be running point for LSU for the second consecutive season. The Second-Team was made up of six total players: Smart, Kentucky’s Oliver Sarr, Missouri’s Dru Smith, South Carolina’s AJ Lawson, Tennessee’s Yves Pons and Texas A&M’s Savion Flagg.

LSU’s season begins Wednesday, November 25 in Lincoln, Nebraska. The opponent is still to be determined.