The USA South Athletic Conference's men's basketball coaches have released their 2023-24 preseason poll. Head coaches do not vote for their own teams in the balloting.
N.C. Wesleyan was placed atop the rankings thanks to receiving 46 total points and four of the possible eight first place votes. The Battling Bishops captured both the USA South regular season and tournament championships after finishing with a 13-1 Conference record and sweeping through the tournament bracket. It was the program's tenth regular season title and fifth tournament crown. William Peace, who were the tournament runners-up a year ago was second in the poll grabbing 44 total points and the final four remaining first place votes. Mary Baldwin rounded out the top-three with 36 points.
Since the first Conference men's basketball preseason poll in 2004-05, the N.C. Wesleyan program has been picked to capture the title three times with last year being the first it fulfilled those expectations. The team picked first in the poll's history has won the Conference championship ten out of 20 years. Conversely, the second place team in the poll has grabbed the League title just once while the team picked fourth in the preseason poll has earned the championship four times. Finally, the team picked first in the preseason poll has reached at least the semifinals of the Conference tournament 16 times and played for the championship on 13 occasions.
The 2024 USA South Men's Basketball Tournament will once again be conducted exclusively on campus sites. The top-six seeded teams will advance to the tournament which will begin with first round action on Tuesday, February 20. The semifinals will take place Thursday, February 22 with the finals occurring on Saturday, February 24. The higher-seeded team in each contest will serve as the host of that particular game.
| 2023-24 USA South Coaches Preseason Men's Basketball Poll |
| Rank |
Institution (1st Place Votes) |
Points |
| 1. |
N.C. Wesleyan* (4) |
46 |
| 2. |
William Peace (4) |
44 |
| 3. |
Mary Baldwin |
36 |
| 4. |
Brevard |
27 |
| 5. |
Greensboro |
25 |
| 6. |
Pfeiffer |
22 |
| 7. |
Southern Virginia |
16 |
| 8. |
Methodist |
8 |
| *Defending Regular Season & Tournament Champion |
All-Time Men's Basketball Conference Records
(listed by wins of current Conference members) |
| Team |
Seasons |
Record |
Pct. |
Conference Championships
(Reg. Season / Tournament) |
| N.C. Wesleyan |
60 |
403-371 |
.521 |
10 / 5 |
| Methodist |
60 |
402-371* |
.520 |
11 / 8 |
| Greensboro |
57 |
340-404 |
.457 |
3 / 3 |
| William Peace |
10 |
66-78 |
.458 |
0 / 0 |
| Pfeiffer |
5 |
36-36 |
.500 |
0 / 1 |
| Brevard |
5 |
19-49 |
.279 |
0 / 0 |
| Mary Baldwin |
2 |
16-12 |
.571 |
0 / 0 |
| Southern Virginia |
2 |
13-15 |
.464 |
0 / 0 |
| *Methodist (and Averett) played one-fewer game during the 1976-77 season. |