Big South releases preseason poll: Here’s where Longwood ranks
Published 10:09 am Tuesday, October 15, 2024
- For the second time in three seasons, Longwood won the Big South Conference Tournament this past spring.
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Longwood men’s basketball was picked to finish third in the annual Big South Conference Preseason Poll, the conference office announced Tuesday morning.
In addition, graduate forward Michael Christmas earned a spot on the Preseason Big South Second Team for the reigning Big South champions. The poll and preseason all-conference honors are voted on by both members of the media and Big South men’s basketball coaches.
For Longwood, it is the fourth straight season the team has been picked to finish in the top five in the league. The Lancers begin their title defense on November fourth, and the defending Big South champs have won two titles in the past three seasons.
In addition, the team also has racked up back-to-back-to-back 20-win seasons for the first time in program history after never posting back-to-back seasons with at least 20 wins prior to head coach Griff Aldrich‘s arrival.
Aldrich currently is the winningest active coach in the league after picking up his 109th win last season, and he has guided the Lancers to a pair of NCAA Tournament appearances in the past three seasons.
Christmas earns the all-conference honors following a strong showing in the Big South Tournament last year, when he earned All-Tournament Team honors. The bruising forward scored in double figures twice during the run, including a team-best 18 points in the Big South Championship.
On the season, Christmas was second on the team in scoring at 11.3 points per game and was incredibly consistent. He topped double figures 22 times, and he added 6.1 rebounds per game, good for eighth in the Big South.
Christmas displayed a sweet stroke from the outside as well, leading the team in made threes while shooting nearly 40 percent from downtown.
The Lancers will open the 2024-25 season with a four-game homestand. On opening night, the team takes on Randolph at 7:30 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 4. The run is part of a 15-game non-conference slate that leads into a challenging Big South schedule to open 2025.
