NEW YORK| The 11 Skyline Conference head men's basketball coaches have cast their votes for the 2017-18 preseason coaches poll, and Farmingdale State College has been selected to repeat as conference champions after taking home the hardware one season ago.

Head coach Brendan Twomey's Rams received all 10 possible first-place votes (coaches are not permitted to vote for their own team). Junior forward George Riefenstahl shot .571 from the floor last year, en route to averages of 12.6 points and 9.7 rebounds per game. It was his fastbreak layup as time expired in the championship final that sent FSC to the conference crown in 2017.

Purchase College, SUNY received one first-place vote and checks in as the second-place team in the tally (88), with the top-five also consisting of Yeshiva University (71), SUNY Old Westbury (68) and St. Joseph's College-Long Island (60).

Mount Saint Mary College (69), SUNY Maritime College (58), College of Mount Saint Vincent (33), Sarah Lawrence College (31), St. Joseph's College-Brooklyn (21) and the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy (16) round out the poll. 

The six-team 2018 Skyline Conference Men's Basketball Championship opens up with first-round action on Feb. 20, with the semifinals and final taking place on Feb. 22 and 24, respectively. The winner receives the Skyline's automatic bid to the 2018 NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Championship.