The Sun Belt Conference released its Men’s Basketball Preseason Coaches Poll on Thursday.
UTA was projected to finish third out of six teams in the league’s new West Division. Last month, the Sun Belt announced it would split its teams into East and West divisions to minimize travel during the ongoing pandemic.
The Mavericks received 87 votes in the poll, including one first-place vote.
On Wednesday, junior guard David Azore received Sun Belt preseason honors after being named to the All-Sun Belt Preseason Second Team. He was the only Maverick to earn the honors.
UTA will open its schedule against Oklahoma State University at 3 p.