The Wayne State men’s basketball team were picked to finish 10th and the Wildcat women’s team was predicted for an 11th place finish as the NSIC preseason coaches polls were released Thursday.
Wayne State is tied for 10th overall and picked fifth in the South Division in the men’s poll. The Wildcats and Sioux Falls both received 96 points in voting conducted by league coaches. Last season, WSC finished 21-10 overall and earned a share of the NSIC South Division title with a 14-8 league record after being selected 12th in the preseason coaches poll. The Wildcats return two starters and eight letter winners from last year’s team.
Minnesota State was voted the team to beat in the NSIC this season by league coaches with seven first-place votes and 214 points, just ahead of second place Augustana with 208 points and six first-place tallies.
In the NSIC South Division poll, Minnesota State edged Augustana 47-44 for the top spot with Winona State third at 37 points. Sioux Falls had one more point than WSC, 25-24, for fourth place with Southwest Minnesota State (22), Upper Iowa (18) and Concordia-St. Paul (7) rounding out the South Division poll.
6-foot-7 sophomore center Jordan Janssen was listed as Wayne State’s Player to Watch this season. He started all 31 games last season for the Wildcats, averaging 11.7 points and 8.4 rebounds per contest while recording 10 double-doubles. He led the NSIC in offensive rebounds per game (3.2), was second in rebounds per game, fourth in field goal percentage (.578) and ninth in blocked shots (1.1), free throw percentage (.825) and steals per game (1.2).
The Wayne State women received 103 points in voting done by coaches throughout the league in the women’s poll. Wayne State returns three starters and eight letter winners from last year’s team that was 15-15 overall and 9-13 in the NSIC.
MSU Moorhead edged Sioux Falls as the preseason favorite with the Dragons receiving 217 points and nine first place votes compared to 214 points and six first place votes for USF.
In the NSIC South Division, Sioux Falls was the unanimous choice to win the division with 49 points and seven first place votes (coaches can not vote for their own team). Augustana was second with 39 points followed by Minnesota State with 35 points and the remaining first place vote.
The Wildcat Player to Watch this season is junior Erin Norling. A 5-foot-11 forward, Norling was a first-team All-NSIC selection last season after leading the Wildcats in scoring at 15.7 points per game. She ranked sixth in the league in scoring while reaching double figures in 28 of 30 contests. Norling shot 42.7 percent from the field and 78.3 percent at the free throw line and also grabbed 5.5 rebounds per game.
The Wayne State men open the 2019-20 season on Friday, Nov. 1, facing Ferris State of Michigan at the Division II CCA Tip Off Classic in Orange, Calif. The Wayne State kick off the regular season at the MIAA/NSIC Crossover in Kearney on Friday, Nov. 8, facing Northwest Missouri State at 5:30 p.m.
