BURNSVILLE, Minn. – The Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference has released the 2021-22 NSIC Men's Basketball Preseason Coaches' Poll and Concordia-St. Paul was picked to finish 14th in the conference and eighth in the south division.
Minnesota State University Moorhead was selected by the league coaches as the preseason favorite in the NSIC for the 2021-22 season. The Dragons received 222 points, garnering 13 first places votes to sit 27 points ahead of second place Wayne State. The Wildcats had 195 points and two first place votes. Minnesota State was third with 192 points and the other first place vote.
In the divisional rankings, MSU Moorhead was the unanimous choice in the north, picking up all seven first place votes for 49 points. St. Cloud State was second with 36 points and the other first place vote. In the south, Minnesota State and Wayne State each had 42 points, with Wayne State collecting four first place votes and the Mavericks two. Upper Iowa was third with 39 points and the other two first place votes.
NSIC coaches rank each team from 1 to 15 with a first place vote receiving 15 points, second place 14, third place 13, etc. Coaches do not rank their own team or vote for their own players in the preseason poll.
Concordia-St. Paul will look to take a big step forward with a new-look squad in year two under head coach
Matt Fletcher in 2021-22. The roster features nine newcomers, including seven freshmen, along with nine returners as the team looks to climb the standings in the NSIC South.
Fletcher on the Golden Bears: "Most importantly, I really like this group of guys. They are so much fun to be around and they play their absolute tails off. With nine new guys and nine returners, it has been really fun to watch this group mold together. We are big, we have some great athletes, and some guys that can really shoot the ball. We are extremely young, so it will be really fun to watch this team mature and improve all year long!"
While the Golden Bears are set to field a young roster, they do return some key returners from last season's group. Second year forward
Marcus Skeete was tabbed as a player to watch after finishing last season strong. Skeete scored in double figures in five of the final eight games, including three double-doubles, to finish the season as the team's leader in rebounds at 5.7 per game and their fourth-leading scorer at 9.9 points per game. He's one of four returning starters as
Jax Madson,
Caden Hoffman and
Matt Johns are also back for a second season in navy and gold. Madson finished second on the team with 10.2 points per game while Hoffman chipped in a team-best 2.9 assists per game and Johns tallied 8.0 points and 3.8 boards on the year.
Along with seven incoming freshmen, CSP also added a pair of experienced players in senior guard Jack Stensgaard from Wisconsin-River Falls and junior
Roy Grigsby from Northern Colorado. Stensgaard was an All-WIAC honorable mention performer for the Falcons while Grigsby got his feet wet at the Division I level with the Bears.
Concordia opens the season with a pair of Division I exhibitions before hosting the DoubleTree by Hilton Roseville Minneapolis Classic on Nov. 12-13.
The NSIC regular season championship will be based on the 22-game schedule. Each team will play teams in their division twice (14) and teams in the other division once (8). An NSIC North and South Division Champion will also be awarded. Divisional standings will also be based on all 22 NSIC contests played. In the case of a tie, co-champions will be awarded. The 12-team NSIC / Sanford Health Women's Basketball Tournament Quarterfinals, Semifinals and Championships are set to take place February 26 to March 1 at the Sanford Health Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D. The top two seeds in each division will receive a first round bye. First round games will be played on campus on Wednesday, Feb. 23.
