Following a second straight appearance in the conference tournament quarterfinals, Head Coach Bob Rukavina's Pitt-Johnstown men's basketball team has been selected to finished sixth in the PSAC Western Division when the 2017-18 preseason coaches' poll was released on Thursday.

Shippensburg and IUP have been tabbed to win the Eastern and Western Divisions, respectively, for the 2017-18 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Men's Basketball season. The favorites were announced by the league office Thursday morning along with the preseason coaches' poll.

The Mountain Cats welcome back a pair of starters and six lettermen from last year's team that went 19-11 overall and 13-9 in the PSAC West.  Pitt-Johnstown also made it third straight conference tournament appearance and advanced to the PSAC Quarterfinals for the second consecutive year.

The Mountain Cats will be led All-PSAC West guard Dale Clancy and 2016-17 PSAC Winter Top-10 choice Isaac Vescovi.  Four of the team's top-six scorers will be back, including Vescovi (15.5 ppg., 4.6 rpg., 2.6 apg.) and Clancy (14.0 ppg., 4.0 rpg., 6.2 apg.).

However, the Mountain Cats must replace three seniors lost to graduation, including 3-time All-PSAC West forward A.J. Leahey, Jake Laravie, and Rasaun Mosley.

In the East, the Shippensburg Raiders earned eight first-place votes and the No. 1 slot in the East after claiming their second PSAC title in school history in the 2016-17 season. Chris Fite's team posted a 27-4 (19-3 PSAC) record and defeated Kutztown in the title game and went on to win its first NCAA postseason game after defeating Virginia Union. Fite was named the National Association of Basketball Coaches Atlantic Region Coach of the Year and PSAC East Coach of the Year.

In the West, IUP grabbed eight first-places votes and the No. 1 slot in the west after producing a 28-4, 21-1 campaign. The Crimson Hawks advanced to the NCAA Atlantic Region semifinals. Junior Jacobo Diaz, the reigning PSAC West Athlete of the Year, averaged a double-double (14.4 ppg, 10.0 rpg) while head coach Joe Lombardi grabbed his 250th career win. IUP returns four starters and was picked third in the Street & Smith's preseason top 10.