Minnesota Duluth, Minnesota State Mankato teams favored in conference
ABERDEEN — Northern State University's men's and women's basketball teams are picked to finish third and 10th, respectively, in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference's preseason coaches polls.
The polls were released on Thursday.
NSIC Men's Basketball
The University of Minnesota Duluth was selected by the league coaches as the preseason favorite in the NSIC for the 2023-24 season.
The Bulldogs received 195 points, garnering 13 first places votes to sit 18 points ahead of second place Minnesota State. The Mavericks had 177 points and the other two first-place votes. The defending regular season champions of Northern State were third with 160 points.
"This year's team has a lot of returning players who have played in a lot of high leverage moments. We have length at all our positions and share the ball well with each other," said head coach Saul Phillips, now in his fifth season at Northern State.
"We can stretch the floor as we have multiple players with deep shooting range. Our locker room is a tight knit group and works exceptionally hard. We are excited to for our journey together in the coming months."
The Wolves went 24-7 overall and won the NSIC North division with a 19-3 record last winter. NSU also won the NSIC postseason tournament.
NSIC coaches rank each team from 1 to 14 with a first-place vote receiving 14 points, second place 13, third place 12, etc. Coaches do not rank their own team or vote for their own players in the preseason poll.
Minnesota State Moorhead is picked to finish fourth with 152 points, followed by Augustana University at 135, Bemidji (Minn.) State 125, Southwest Minnesota State 117, University of Sioux Falls 107, Minot (N.D.) State 84, Winona (Minn.) State 80, Wayne (Neb.) State 74, Concordia-St. Paul (Minn.) 73, University of Mary (N.D.) 50, St. Cloud (Minn.) State 27 and Minnesota-Crookston 17.
Minnesota Duluth's Drew Blair, a 6-foot-5 graduate senior guard, is the NSIC Preseason Player of the Year.
Northern State's Player to Watch is Jacksen Moni, a 6-10 junior forward from Fargo (N.D.), who averaged 15.2 points, 4.9 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game last winter."Jacksen is a special player. His length, skill, shooting and passing ability are unique. He is an extremely fast learner and a dream to coach," said Phillips. "On top of that, Jacksen has a steady pulse at the biggest moments. It's unusual to see a player at his size to have such a broad skill set. He is amongst the best in the NSIC and all of DII."
NSIC Women's Basketball
Minnesota State University, Mankato has been selected by the league coaches as the preseason favorite in the NSIC for the 2023-24 season.
The Mavericks received 196 points, garnering 14 first places votes to sit 31 points ahead of second place Minnesota Duluth. The Bulldogs, a 2022-23 national finalist, had 165 points and the other first place vote. The University of Mary was third with 162 points.
Rounding out the field are Southwest Minnesota State (140), St. Cloud State (133), Augustana (128), Concordia-St. Paul (127), Sioux Falls (100), MSU Moorhead (94), Wayne State and Northern State each 87, Winona State 58, Minnesota-Crookston 40, Bemidji State 30 and Minot State 28. Bemidji State is coached by Watertown native Chelsea (DeVille) Stoltenberg, who is beginning her ninth season.
Northern State went 18-10 overall and 12-10 in conference play, tying for sixth overall and finishing third in the NSIC North.
"We are a unique mix of youth and experience," said Northern State head coach Paula Krueger, who is beginning her sixth season with the Wolves. "I’m excited to see our young kids step up and our experienced group show them the way."
Minnesota State Mankato's Joey Batt, a 5-5 senior guard from New Ulm, is the Preseason Player of the Year in the NSIC.
The Player to Watch for Northern State is Rianna Fillipi, a 5-8 senior guard from Lennox. She averaged 11.4 points, 4.7 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game in 2022-23."Rianna is a four-year starter at the point guard position and has grown in every facet of the game." said Krueger. "Rio is our floor leader and does a great job with the ball in her hands. She makes solid decisions and controls the game for us."
NSIC Schedule
The 2023-24 NSIC men's and women's regular season championships will be based on the 22-game schedule. Each team will play eight teams twice and another six teams once. An NSIC Champion will be awarded to the team with the highest win percentage in the 22 games played.
The seasons get underway in early November with non-conference action. NSIC play begins Tuesday, Nov. 21.The 12-team NSIC Men's and Women’s Basketball Tournament quarterfinals, semifinals and championships are set to take place March 2-5 at the Sanford Health Pentagon in Sioux Falls. The top four seeds will receive a first-round bye. First round games will be played on campus on Wednesday, Feb. 28.
This article originally appeared on Watertown Public Opinion: The preseason polls for Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference hoops
