SAN FRANCISCO – Oregon has been chosen to win the 2019-20 Pac-12 men’s basketball title in a vote of 27 media members who cover the league, the conference announced Tuesday at its annual media day.

It is the second consecutive season and third time in the past four years that the Ducks are the media’s pick to wear the Pac-12 crown under 10th year head coach Dana Altman, who enters the season needing one more victory to become the winningest coach in program history.

Senior guard Payton Pritchard was named to the Pac-12 preseason all-conference first team, while freshmen N’Fale Dante and C.J. Walker were also recognized by the media.

In one of the closest votes in Conference preseason poll history, the Ducks edged Colorado by three points as the favorite. Oregon had 291 points to the Buffaloes’ 288.

Washington was picked third for the second year in a row, collecting 273 points, followed by Arizona (263) and USC (198) to round out the top five.

The Pac-12 regular season tips off with seven games on Tuesday, Nov. 5, the first official contest pitting preseason favorite Oregon against Fresno State on Pac-12 Networks at 6 p.m.

Pritchard, the 2019 Pac-12 Tournament Most Outstanding Player, enters the year on pace to become Oregon’s career leader in both assists and steals. He played in more minutes last season – 1,349 – than any other player in Division I. The senior guard is also just the third player in program history with 1,000 points, 400 rebounds and 400 assists. The other two are UO Hall of Famers Ron Lee and Luke Jackson.

Dante, a 6-11 center from Bamako, Mali, was named to the preseason all-conference second team, while Walker, a 6-8 forward from Samford, Fla., earned honorable mention status. Both are five-star recruits who helped Oregon earn a No. 4 national ranking for its 2019 recruiting class.

With the UO women’s team earning the media’s nod to win the 2019-20 title on Monday, Oregon has now been the preseason pick to sweep the league’s basketball crowns for the second consecutive year.

2019-20 PAC-12 MEN’S BASKETBALL PRESEASON MEDIA POLL

TEAM (first-place votes) POINTS

1. Oregon (9) 291

2. Colorado (9) 288

3. Washington (6) 273

4. Arizona (2) 263

5. USC (1) 198

6. Arizona State 187

7. Oregon State 161

8. UCLA 148

9. Utah 131

10. Stanford 84

11. Washington State 47

12. California 35