BURNSVILLE, Minn. – The Northern Sun (NSIC) released the 2020-21 NSIC Men's Basketball Preseason Poll and Concordia-St. Paul was picked to finish sixth in the NSIC South Division.
 
The Golden Bears garnered 15 points in the poll, edging Southwest Minnesota State, in seventh, by a point and Wayne State, in eighth, by four points. CSP's spot in the preseason poll matched where they finished last season as they finished in a tie for sixth in the division.
 
Northern State was the unanimous top choice in the north, while Augustana was selected first in the south division of the 2020-21 NSIC Men's Basketball Preseason Poll.  The NSIC schedule will be 16-games played over eight weeks with teams playing the same opponent at one site on back-to-back days. The season will start with two non-conference games against one NSIC out-of-division opponent. The conference schedule will then consist of 14 games with teams playing each member of its division twice. For this season, the NSIC will only crown a North Division and South Division Champion.
 
In the preseason voting Northern State picked up all seven first place votes for 49 points. MSU Moorhead was second with 43 points and the other first place vote (coaches cannot vote for their own team). In the south, Augustana amassed 46 points and four first place votes to edge second place Sioux Falls, which had 41 points and three first place votes.  Winona State was third with 36 points and the other first place vote.  
 
The 2020-21 season marks a new era for Concordia-St. Paul men's basketball as Matt Fletcher was named the 10th head coach in the program's history this past summer. Fletcher joins the Golden Bears after a highly successful four-year run as the head coach at Bethany Lutheran. During his four years there, Fletcher guided the Vikings to their first-ever NCAA Division III Tournament while also earning UMAC Coach of the Year honors.
 
Fletcher inherits a roster that features five different players that started at least 10 games and six that averaged at least 17.0 minutes per game last season, including the team's top two leading scorers. Concordia's player to watch, senior Jordan Coblin, is coming off a massive first season on campus as the transfer ranked 11th in the league in scoring (16.4) and third in the league in assists (4.9) while finishing second on the squad with 5.1 rebounds per game. The Boca Raton, Fla. native also ranked 13th in the NSIC in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.24) and 16th in field goal percentage (46.0%).
 
Concordia's other key returners include seniors Lee Higgins, Jacob Shields and Carlos Barela in addition to junior Noah Kannegiesser and sophomore George Scharlau. Higgins joined Coblin in double figures last year with 12.6 points on an efficient 58.0% from the floor and 51.4% from beyond the arc. Fletcher added to the mix with a pair of Division I transfers from South Dakota in Matt Johns and Caden Hoffman to go along with four freshmen.
 
"I think we have some pieces to really compete at a high level from the start," said Fletcher of the group. He added, "We have a core group of talented players and then a couple additions that will help us right away. We will need to all be on the same page and clicking on all cylinders to compete in this crazy tough league and South division. I think we have an extremely talented group of seniors in Jordan Coblin, Carlos Barela, Lee Higgins, and Jacob Shields. It will be fun to watch them take a big step in this league and knowing what it will take to win games. I am expecting a big step in the right direction for Golden Bear Basketball."
 
CSP opens up play at Minnesota Crookston as they head north on Jan. 2-3 for a pair of non-conference road games. The Golden Bears return home for their conference and home openers on the following weekend as they host Wayne State on Jan. 8-9.
 
NSIC coaches rank each team from one to seven with a first place vote receiving seven points, second place six, third place five, etc. Coaches do not rank their own team or vote for their own players in the preseason poll.
 
Northern State and Winona State will boast preseason players of the year as Parker Fox was chosen in the north and Kevion Taylor in the south.  
 
The NSIC / Sanford Health Men's & Women's Basketball Tournament Quarterfinals, Semifinals and Championships are set to take place Thursday-Sunday, February 25-28 at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.  The top for teams from each division will make up the eight-team field for the 2021 tournament.