Duck MBXB Picked First, Oct. 9

UO release – SAN FRANCISCO – Oregon has been chosen to win the 2019-20 Pac-12 men’s basketball title in a vote of 27 media members who cover the league, the conference announced Tuesday at its annual media day.  It is the second consecutive season and third time in the past four years that the Ducks are the media’s pick to wear the Pac-12 crown under 10th year head coach Dana Altman, who enters the season needing one more victory to become the winningest coach in program history. Senior guard Payton Pritchard was named to the Pac-12 preseason all-conference first team, while freshmen N’Faly Dante and C.J. Walker were also recognized by the media. In one of the closest votes in Conference preseason poll history, the Ducks edged Colorado by three points as the favorite. Oregon had 291 points to the Buffaloes’ 288. Washington was picked third for the second year in a row, collecting 273 points, followed by Arizona (263) and USC (198) to round out the top five. Oregon State came in seventh. With the UO women’s team earning the media’s nod to win the 2019-20 title on Monday, Oregon has now been the preseason pick to sweep the league’s basketball crowns for the second consecutive year.