The John Brown University women's basketball team was selected to finish second among the 12 teams in the Sooner Athletic Conference in 2017-18, according to votes cast by the league head coaches on Friday morning.
The Golden Eagles finished last season with a 14-4 conference record, tying with Wayland Baptist (Texas) in second place behind conference champion and eventual national champion Oklahoma City. Last season, the conference coaches predicted a third-place finish for JBU in the 2016-17 edition of the preseason poll. JBU was particularly tough at home, where it posted an 8-1 SAC mark before making it to the Round of 16 at the 2017 NAIA National Championships in Billings, Mont.
Defending NAIA women's basketball national champion Oklahoma City was the clear choice among SAC coaches to win the 2017-18 crown. The Stars finished last season with a 34-2 record under coach Bo Overton and had eight of the possible 11 first-place votes cast.
The remainder of the poll included Mid-America Christian (Okla.) in fourth (102 points), followed by Science and Arts (Okla.) in fifth (83 points) and Texas Wesleyan in sixth (81 points). Southwestern Christian (Okla.) was picked seventh (78 points) while Southwestern Assemblies of God (Texas) was eighth (65 points) and conference-newcomer Oklahoma Panhandle State was ninth (48 points).
The final teams in the poll was Bacone (Okla.) in tenth (47 points), St. Gregory's (Okla.) in 11th (39 points) and conference-newcomer Central Christian (Kan.) in 12th (24 points).
Each Sooner Athletic team will play a 22-game league schedule, with each squad taking on the other 11 in a home-and-home matchup during the conference slate. The conference season kicks off on Thursday (Nov. 30) as the Golden Eagles welcome St. Gregory's (Okla.) to Bill George Arena for a 6 p.m. tip.
The SAC season will conclude with the tournament that features the top eight teams from the regular season, competing in a single-elimination format, with the quarterfinals set to begin on Feb. 27, 2018. The winners of the high-seed-hosts quarterfinals will move on to Siloam Springs for semifinal and championship action from March 1-3.
The Sooner Athletic tournament champion will receive an automatic bid to the NAIA Division I Women's Basketball Championships to be held in Billings, Mont., from March 14-20, 2018.
The Golden Eagles open the season at Bill George Arena when it welcomes Ecclesia on Nov. 4 at 6 p.m.
Sports on 10/15/2017