D2SIDA MEN'S BASKETBALL EAST REGION MEDIA POLL WEEK 1 - NOVEMBER 12, 2018
Rank	School	Pts.	Record	Previous
1.	St. Anselm (4)	52	2-0	-
2.	Bridgeport (1)	49	2-0	-
T-3.	Jefferson (1)	48	2-0	-
T-3.	DAEMEN	48	2-0	-
5.	St. Thomas Aquinas	32	2-0	-
6.	Bentley	26	2-0	-
7.	Southern New Hampshire	18	2-0	-
8.	Assumption	13	2-0	-
9.	New Haven	12	0-0	-
10.	Le Moyne	11	1-0	-
( ) - denotes first-place votes

AMHERST, N.Y. - The Daemen College men's basketball team is ranked in a tie at No. 3 in the NCAA Division II Sports Information Directors of America (D2SIDA) East Region media poll which was released this afternoon. It marks the team's highest-ever ranking in the poll. 

Daemen (2-0, 0-0 ECC) earned 48 points in the poll voting, coming in a tie for third with CACC affiliate Jefferson University. Saint Anselm College received four first-place votes and 52 points to sit atop the poll, while Daemen's ECC brethren from the University of Bridgeport came in second with 49 points.

Daemen opened the 2018-19 season with a pair of home wins this past weekend, defeating Caldwell College (75-60) and Nyack College (83-72) at the ECC-CACC Challenge presented by Western New York Knee and Orthopedic Surgery PC. The season-opening tournament featured teams from the East Coast Conference and the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference. It marks the seventh time in the last nine seasons that Daemen has gotten off to a 2-0 start. The Wildcats also improved to 9-1 all-time in the ECC-CACC Challenge, and ran their winning streak in the event to six consecutive games. Since joining the ECC for the 2013-14 season, Daemen is 14-3 in all games against CACC opponents.

The wins also moved Daemen to 13-3 in November home games under head coach Mike MacDonald. The veteran bench boss has posted an 83-37 record in his five seasons with the program, and he boasts 339 wins in his 22-year head coaching career. The Wildcats are also 84-13 at Lumsden Gymnasium since the start of the 2011-12 season. 

With 13 returning players off last season's 22-8 team, expectations are high for MacDonald's club at the season's outset. The Wildcats were picked second in the ECC preseason poll, and are ranked No. 22 in the Division II Bulletin preseason national poll, while also receiving top-25 votes in both the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) and D2SIDA preseason national polls. 

Daemen returns to action Wednesday, Nov. 14 with their first road contest of the 2018-19 season. The Wildcats will visit Mercyhurst University for the teams' sixth meeting in as many seasons. 

The East Region of NCAA Division II is comprised of teams from the East Coast Conference, the Northeast-10 Conference and the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference, and the East Region media poll is voted on by sports information professionals from around the region.