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The Pfeiffer University men’s basketball team has been tabbed to finish fourth in the USA South East Division by the league’s head coaches, the league has announced.

Each divisional preseason poll only includes votes from coaches within that particular division. Head coaches do not vote for their own teams in the balloting.

The 2021 USA South Men’s Basketball Tournament will once again be conducted exclusively on campus sites. Due to the ongoing pandemic, the tournament size will be reduced to the top-two seeded teams from each division. Additionally, USA South rules implemented for this season state that teams must complete seven conference contests to be eligible to earn a divisional championship and/or advance to USA South tournament play. Divisional championships will take place between the two top teams from each division with the winners facing each other for the USA South Championship.

Pfeiffer returns all five starters and 17 letterwinners from 2019-20, where the Falcons finished 11-14 overall and 6-11 in USA South play.

Of the returners, senior Jamaal David (Clinton, Md.) returns after earning USA South Second Team honors a season ago. David averaged 17.1 points per game, which placed him seventh in the USA South rankings. He completed last season with a 42.5 shooting percentage from the field and a 39.7 clip from beyond the arc. He also managed 7.3 rebounds per game and was a 76.9 percent free throw shooter.

He posted double figures in 19 of the 23 games in which he played and eclipsed the 20-point mark on eight occasions. He also scored 30 or more points twice, with his season-high coming in a 37-point outburst last January against Averett.

He also managed six double-double performances, with his top rebounding effort coming in a 18-rebound, 20-point effort at Methodist last February.

Also returning are senior guard Craig Sabb (Goose Creek, S.C.) and Tyjarek Simmons (Roanoke Rapids, N.C.). Sabb enters his senior campaign after shooting 53.4 percent from the field and 33.8 percent from long range last season. He also is poised to become the 36th player in program history to score 1,000 career points.

Simmons had a tremendous junior season, as he averaged 12.0 points per game and shot 36.8 percent from long range and 44.4 percent from the field. He had a breakout game last January with a 35-point outburst at N.C. Wesleyan and had a career-best nine rebounds in a home game against Greensboro last January. He also represented Pfeiffer on the USA South All-Sportsmanship team as a junior.

The Falcons will look to start the 2020-21 season on Jan. 20 with a road game at ODAC foe Bridgewater. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Bridgewater’s Nininger Hall.