The Arkansas men’s basketball program was predicted to finish third in the Southeastern Conference while Trevon Brazile (first team) and Davonte Davis (second team) were named preseason All-SEC by a select panel of both SEC and national media members.
Team points were compiled on a 14-13-12-11-10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis. Each media member also voted for a five-player All-SEC Team. Ties were not broken.
Arkansas, ranked 14th in the preseason AP poll, is coming off its third straight NCAA Sweet 16 appearance.
Brazile was voted to the first team despite playing just nine games last season before suffering a season-ending knee injury. He averaged 11.8 points, 6.0 rebounds and was the team’s leading 3-point shooter at 37.9 percent (11-of-29). In his eight-plus games played, Brazile led the team in rebounding five times and blocked shots four times. He recorded his first two career double-doubles with 21 pts and 12 rebs vs North Dakota State and 13 pts and 10 rebs vs South Dakota State. At the Maui Invitational, Brazile led Arkansas to an overtime win over San Diego State by scoring 20 points and grabbing nine rebounds. He scored 18 of his 20 after halftime, including 16 in the second half (4-of-7 FG • 3-of-4 3PT • 5-of-6 FT) and tied his career high with two steals, one coming with Arkansas down two with seven seconds left to set-up the game-tying basket. In his final full game played, Brazile scored 23 points in a win over San Jose State, making 8-of-9 shots from the field.
Davis picks up his second career preseason second team All-SEC honor. The Jacksonville native was also tabbed second team All-SEC prior to the 2021-22 season. Davis is the only Razorback to play in Arkansas’ back-to-back-to-back Sweet 16 runs. He is coming off an impressive junior year that saw him earn SEC All-Defensive Team honors and saw him score 25 points to help the Razorbacks defeat #1 seed Kansas in last year’s NCAA Tournament. Davis finished the year averaging 10.9 points and 4.4 rebounds while leading the team in 3-pont shooting (34.6% - 47 makes) and ranking second on the team in assists (87) and steals (48). Davis is just 59 points from 1,000 for his career. In fact, he is just the ninth Razorback to reach 900+ points, 400+ rebounds, 200+ assists and 100+ steals in a Razorback uniform.
Arkansas will host UT Tyler in an exhibition game this Friday (Oct. 20) in Bud Walton Arena. Tip-off is set for 6:30 pm and the game is part of the 2023-24 men’s basketball season ticket package.
Preseason First Team All-SEC
Grant Nelson (Alabama)
Trevon Brazile (Arkansas)
Johni Broome (Auburn)
Justin Edwards (Kentucky)
Tolu Smith (Mississippi State)
Santiago Vescovi (Tennessee)
Wade Taylor IV (Texas A&M)
Preseason Second Team All-SEC
Mark Sears (Alabama)
Davonte Davis (Arkansas)
Riley Kugel (Florida)
Antonio Reeves (Kentucky)
Zakai Zeigler (Tennessee)
Preseason SEC Player of the Year
Wade Taylor IV (Texas A&M)
Preseason Predicted Order Of Finish
1. Tennessee
2. Texas A&M
3. Arkansas
4. Kentucky
5. Alabama
6. Auburn
7. Mississippi State
8. Florida
9. Missouri
10. Ole Miss
11. Vanderbilt
12. Georgia
13. LSU
14. South Carolina
