The America East men’s basketball preseason coaches’ poll was released at the Tip-Off Luncheon held at the Connecticut State Capitol in Hartford. Boston University was the unanimous choice to win its sixth conference crown this year, receiving all eight possible first-place votes (coaches could not vote for their own team).

1. Boston University: The Terriers finished in third place in the regular season last year with an 11-5 record; they lost to University of Maryland, Baltimore County in the AE quarterfinals 79-75 in overtime. Head coach Patrick Chambers begins his first season at the helm just a season after helping to lead Villanova University to its Final Four appearance last season as an associate head coach. The Terriers are a clear favorite as they return their top six scorers and plenty of new talent.

2. University of Vermont: Last season the Catamounts grabbed a share of the AE regular season title but fell victim to upset-minded Albany in the AE quarterfinals, losing 56-52 in overtime. Vermont lost star point guard Mike Trimboli to graduation, but Player and Defensive Player of the Year Marqus Blakely returns as a senior. Vermont received the only other first-place vote, from Boston.

3. University at Albany: A semifinal appearance last year and the return of All-Conference players Tim Ambrose and Will Harris make the Great Danes a good pick for the upper echelon of the conference. Albany upset the Catamounts last year in the quarterfinals of the playoffs but lost to UMBC 64-58 in the semis. They will be eyeing their third AE championship in five seasons.

4. Stony Brook University: The Seawolves had a program-best eight conference wins last season and with the return of four starters, the team looks to continue its improvement. Stony Brook lost a close quarterfinal matchup last season to New Hampshire, 76-73.

5. University of New Hampshire: The Wildcats lost a bitterly close semifinal last season to Binghamton, their second appearance in the semifinals in four years. With the loss of Tyrece Gibbs, New Hampshire will need juniors Alvin Abreu and Tyrone Conley to be even more productive.

6. University of Hartford: Last season, the Hawks suffered a 2-14 conference season when they lost star Joe Zeglinski just 10 games in. With Zeglinski — and his 16.0 points per game the last two seasons — back in the lineup for his senior season, Hartford should show marked improvement, especially in AE play.

7. UMBC: Jay Greene and Darryl Proctor led the Retrievers to the AE finals for the second straight year last year, even if they didn’t advance to the NCAA tournament. However, both of them graduated last season, leaving senior Matt Spadafora to pick up the pieces. UMBC will need to find other sources of offense, or they are bound for a long season.

8. University of Maine: Despite the return of four starters, the Black Bears lack experience during AE play and are coming off a 4-12 conference record last season. Maine lost in the first round of the AE playoffs last season to ninth-place Hartford, 65-56.

9. Binghamton University: The Bearcats are coming off their first-ever AE title last season. But after six players were permanently released earlier this semester, including AE scoring leader D.J. Rivera, the Bearcats lost most of their offense. Juniors Chretien Lukusa and Moussa Camara and sophomore Kyrie Sutton are the only returners from last season’s title team. Binghamton will be in for a very long rebuilding season.