Texas A&M Basketball picked to finish third in the SEC

Texas A&M senior guards Danuel House (1st team) and Alex Caruso (2nd team) were named to the preseason All-SEC teams announced at Wednesday's SEC Tip Off, the SEC's annual basketball media day.

House, a 2014-2015 postseason first team SEC selection, averaged 16.2 PPG in SEC play and shot 40% from beyond the arc for the season. In addition, he was named to the watchlist for the Jerry West award, given annually to the nation's best guard.

First Team All‐SEC

Danuel House – Texas A&M, G, 6‐7, 212, Sr., Fresno, Texas

Damian Jones – Vanderbilt, C, 7‐0, 245, Jr., Baton Rouge, La.

Skal Labissiere – Kentucky, F, 6‐11, 225, Fr., Port‐au‐Prince, Haiti

Stefan Moody – Ole Miss, G, 5‐10, 179, Sr., Kissimmee, Fla.

Ben Simmons – LSU, F, 6‐10, 225, Fr., Melbourne, Australia

Tyler Ulis – Kentucky, G, 5‐9, 160, So., Lima, Ohio

Caruso nabbed a second team selection on the strength of his all-around game, leading the conference in assists (5.6 APG) and finishing second in steals (2.1 SPG).

Second Team All‐SEC

Dorian Finney‐Smith – Florida, F, 6‐8, 220, Sr., Portsmouth, Va.

Malik Newman – Mississippi State, G, 6‐3, 178, Fr., Jackson, Miss.

Charles Mann – Georgia, G, 6‐5, 215, Sr., Alpharetta, Ga.

Alex Poythress – Kentucky, F, 6‐8, 230, Sr., Clarksville, Tenn.

Tim Quarterman – LSU, G, 6‐6, 190, Jr., Savannah, Ga.

Alex Caruso – Texas A&M, G, 6‐5, 186, Sr., College Station, Texas

Overall, the squad finished third in Wednesday's pre-season voting. Defending conference champion Kentucky was picked to repeat, with surging Vanderbilt picked to finish second.

Full preseason voting results are listed below.

Preseason Media Poll (Pts)

1. Kentucky (406)

2. Vanderbilt (357)

3. Texas A&M (344)

4. LSU (333)

5. Georgia (266)

6. Florida (258)

7. South Carolina (204)

8. Mississippi State (203)

9. Ole Miss (184)

10. Auburn (168)

11. Arkansas (118)

12. Tennessee (86)

13. Alabama (85)

14. Missouri (33)

The Aggies start their 2015-2016 campaign on November 13th against the University of South Carolina Upstate. A more thorough look at their non-conference slate, which includes the Big XII/SEC Challenge and an entry in the Battle for Atlantis, is available here.