MBB Quick Facts
LOCK HAVEN, Pa.- The Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) released its men's basketball preseason coaches' poll on Thursday morning. Coming off its 12
th consecutive PSAC Quarterfinal appearance, the West Chester University men's basketball team was picked to finish second in the PSAC East, receiving one first-place vote, which trailed only perennial power East Stroudsburg, who garnered seven first-place votes as the preseason favorite.
East Stroudsburg, West Chester, and Millersville claimed the top three spots in the East followed by Shepherd and Lock Haven to round out the top five. Kutztown was picked to finish sixth, followed by Shippensburg, Mansfield, and Bloomsburg to round out the East.
Out West, California was picked as the regular-season favorite with five first-place votes, while Slippery Rock was second with three first-place votes of its own. Gannon, IUP, and Seton Hill rounded out the top five, while Pitt-Johnstown, Clarion, and Edinboro rounded out the poll.
In 2023-24, West Chester finished just one win shy of its fifth 20-win season in the last six years but extended its streak of ending the year with a winning record to six years. West Chester posted its first win over a top-10 opponent since November 2015 last winter with a thrilling 100-97 victory on the road over California (Pa.), which helped the team reach the PSAC Tournament and eventually the PSAC Quarterfinals for the 12
th consecutive year after dispatching Shepherd in the first round by a 76-66 final.
West Chester returns three starters and nearly 60 % of its scoring from a year ago, with almost 1,400 points returning to the court for the Golden Rams in the 2024-25 campaign. First Team All-League selection,
Elijah Allen (Dover, Del./Dover) led the team in scoring a year ago, averaging 17.6 points per game, while
Joshua Walker (Upper Marlboro, Md./Riverdale Baptist) aveaged 14.0 points per game to rank third on the team in scoring. As a unit, West Chester ranked third in the PSAC East in scoring, averaging 81.9 points per game over the course of its 30 (19-11) games.
While ranking third in the league in scoring, West Chester also led the PSAC in rebounds per game, averaging 40.3 per game with just over 1,200 rebounds on the year. The Golden Rams also led the PSAC in rebounding margin and ranked 11
th in Division II in rebounding margin (+7.6) and offensive rebounding (13.7/g), which ranked second best in the PSAC.
Opening Up
West Chester will head to West Virginia to open its season as the Golden Rams square off against perennial regional power West Liberty on opening night (Friday, November 8) at 5:30 p.m. before facing Wheeling on Saturday afternoon at 3 p.m. West Chester will open its home slate on November 16 vs Wilmington beginning at 4 p.m. and will open PSAC play on the road on November 22 beginning at 5 p.m.
