V-Hawks Picked to Finish Third in NSAA
LA CROSSE, Wis. – The Viterbo University Men's Basketball team, who shared a piece of the conference title last year, has been picked to finish third in the 2022-23 North Star Athletic Association (NSAA) men's basketball coaches' preseason poll, the conference office announced this week.
The V-Hawks, who finished 17-13 and 9-5 in NSAA play last season, including a trip to the NSAA Conference Tournament Championship game, received 45 points with one first place vote.
Last year's regular season co-champion and tournament champion Bellevue (Neb.) was picked to win conference with 56 votes and six first place votes. Mayville State (N.D.) was picked second with 49 points, and the final first place vote.
Valley City State (N.D.) finished fourth in the preseason poll with 40 points, edging out Dakota State (S.D.) who received 38 points to place fifth. Dickinson State (N.D.) was sixth after tallying 31 points, followed by Waldorf (Iowa) seventh with 16 points and Presentation (S.D.) eighth with 12 points.
Points are awarded on an 8-1 basis and coaches could vote for their own team
The 2022-23 NAIA Men's Basketball season officially begins on Thursday.
Reigning Coach of the Year Wayne Wagner (24th Season) and Player of the Year Jack Monis lead the V-Hawks as they begin their season on Saturday, October 29 on the road at Cardinal Stritch University.
The NSAA conference season gets underway on Dec. 3 with traveling partners playing each other. Viterbo welcomes Waldorf, Dickinson State visits Valley City State, Mayville State hosts Presentation and Dakota State travels to Bellevue.
Each NSAA member will be play a total of 14 conference game, playing seven home games and seven road games during the conference season. The regular-season finale is set for Thursday, Feb. 16, 2023, with each traveling teams playing each other.
All eight teams will compete in the North Star Athletic Association basketball postseason tournament, which kicks off on Tuesday, Feb. 21, 2023, at four higher seeds. The four opening round winners will advance to the Final Four tournament at the Civic Arena in Watertown, S.D., on Feb. 26-27, 2023.
The NSAA's tournament champion will receive an automatic bid to the NAIA National Tournament's Opening Round on March 7-8, 2023. The winner of the national tournament's opening round will move on to the final site in the NAIA National Championships, held in Kansas City, Mo. from March 13-18, 2023.