HARTFORD, Conn. -- America East announced its men's basketball preseason poll and all-conference squad at its Basketball Tip-Off Luncheon on Thursday at the Connecticut State Capitol in Hartford, host city for the 2012 America East Men’s and Women’s Basketball Championship Presented by Newman’s Own.

For the fifth straight year, Boston University, the reigning America East champion, is the coaches’ preseason choice to become champion again in 2011-12. The Terriers garnered six of eight possible first-place votes (coaches were not allowed to vote for their team) and 62 points, followed by last year’s runner-up Stony Brook University, which received three first-place votes and 56 points. University of Vermont, the reigning America East regular-season champion, was picked third, tallying 46 points, and was followed closely in fourth by University at Albany, which received 42 points. University of New Hampshire was next in fifth place with 39 points while University of Maine followed in sixth with 32 points. University of Hartford and UMBC were tied for seventh place with 18 points and Binghamton University rounded out the nine-team poll with 11 points. l Read the full preseason poll release l

Four returning All-America East selections from last season and the league’s reigning Rookie of the Year highlight the 2011-12 America East Preseason All-Conference Team as determined in a vote by the league’s head coaches, who were not allowed to vote for their own players. Boston University’s Darryl Partin (Seattle, Wash.), a first-team all-conference selection last year, headlines the group. He is joined by a trio of 2010-11 second-team all-league honorees in University of Maine’s Gerald McLemore (San Diego, Calif.), UMBC’s Chris De La Rosa (Washington Heights, N.Y.) and Stony Brook University’s Bryan Dougher (Scotch Plains, N.J.). University of Vermont’s Brian Voelkel (Pleasantville, N.Y.), last year’s America East Rookie of the Year, rounds out the five-man squad. l Read the full preseason all-conference release l