CEDARVILLE, Ohio - The American Mideast Conference basketball coaches’ pre-season poll shows Walsh claiming the South Division title with Daemen and Notre Dame sharing the North in 2009-10.

Walsh was the AMC co-champion last winter when the men’s programs were in a single division. The Cavaliers, 27-4 and 12-1 AMC, earned four-of-six first-place votes and 33 points as the top team in the South.

Cedarville, 27-4 and 12-1 AMC, was the other co-champion. The Yellow Jackets grabbed the other two first-place votes and 32 points to place second in the poll. The rest of the South includes Northwestern Ohio (23 pts), Mount Vernon Nazarene (19), Shawnee State (11), and Wilberforce (8).

In the North Division, Daemen and Notre Dame were treated as equally as possible by the coaches. Each school was given three first-place votes and totaled 27 points apiece.

Point Park was chosen to finish third with 22 points. Houghton and Malone tied with 16 points followed by Roberts Wesleyan with six.

The league has realigned it’s men’s basketball programs into two six-team divisions after using a single division format last winter. Schools will play divisional opponents twice and other members once for a 16-game league schedule.

The AMC is given two automatic bids to the 32-team national tournament.

[2009-10 PRE-SEASON AMC MEN’S BASKETBALL COACHES’ POLL]