RALEIGH -- N.C. Central didn't get the most respect when the CIAA's preseason basketball predictions were released on Thursday at the Marriott Crabtree hotel.

Phil Spence's men's team, coming off a Western Division championship, was selected as the third-place team in the division in the poll of conference coaches.

Joli Robinson's women's club, which limped to an 8-19 finish last season after two straight NCAA appearances but managed to fight its way out of the cellar, was picked last.

The coaches picked Johnson C. Smith to win both men's and women's Western Division titles this season, choosing perennial power Virginia Union to win the men's Eastern Division championship and reigning conference champion Shaw to hold onto the women's.

But the Eagles have higher aspirations.

NCCU hasn't won the CIAA men's title since 1950, although it did take the NCAA Division II national championship in 1989 and has had numerous division championships over the last two decades.

"I think we've gotten better in all areas," Spence said of his team, which finished 16-13 last season and has four returning players along with five first-semester eligible transfers and one freshman. "This should be my most productive team."

For the first time, players joined the 24 league coaches at the event.

"I think we've got the best backcourt in the CIAA," said NCCU senior guard James Tucker, one of the Eagles' three captains along with preseason All-CIAA running mate Curtis Knight and senior Xavier transfer David Young. "I'm looking for 16 points and eight assists a game, and I think if I can do that we can win the conference championship."

Senior combo guard Tiona Beatty, who averaged 17.4 points and 2.3 rebounds and was the top scorer not to make All-CIAA last year, said the women's team will be better than people expect.

"We're not going to finish last," said Beatty, who was the starting point guard on the back-to-back NCAA teams and did make this season's preseason All-CIAA unit. "I guarantee you that."

Robinson, whose team returned only four players from last season but has six incoming transfers, said one of her main goals is to keep the team together and healthy through the season.

"We've got a new motto that one of our players came up with," Robinson said. "We're going to give out before we give up."