For Immediate Release
Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2013
NSIC Media Relations
Full PDF Release
Burnsville, Minn. - The 2013-14 NSIC Men's Basketball season gets under that weekend with games across the country. The regular season champion will be based on the
22-game NSIC 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 16-team
NSIC / Sanford Health Men's Basketball Tournament Quarterfinals, Semifinals and Championships are set to take place Sat.-Tues., March 1-4 at the Sanford Health Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D. First round games will be played on the campus of the top eight seeds on Wednesday, Feb. 26.
2013-14 NSIC Men’s Basketball Notes
AUGUSTANA - The Vikings open regular season play with Missouri Western State at 6 p.m. on Saturday night before taking on Central Missouri at 4 p.m. on Sunday. Both games will be played at the Sanford Petangon in Sioux Falls.
BEMIDJI STATE - The Beavers begin the 2013-14 regular season Nov. 13. The contest against Mayville State University begins a four-game nonconference homestand. Tip for the season opener is set for 8 p.m.
CONCORDIA-ST. PAUL - The Golden Bears tip-off the season at home on November 11 against Mayville State and open conference play on November 30 at home against preseason favorite Minnesota State.
UNIVERSITY OF MARY - The Marauders begin the regular season Nov. 9 when they host South Dakota School of Mines and Technology. Named the Marauders NSIC Player to Watch, senior guard Jalen Jaspers enters his third season as a starter for U-Mary. A key reserve on the Marauders 2011 NCAA tournament team as a freshman, the native of Minneapolis, MN, moved into the starting lineup as a sophomore and averaged 8.5 points/game.
MINNESOTA CROOKSTON The Golden Eagles will get their schedule under way Nov. 12 against Valley City State University at 8 p.m. in Crookston, Minn. Their NSIC slate will open up Nov. 30 at home at 4 p.m against Bemidji State University. The Golden Eagles return five players from last year’s squad that went 4-23 (1-21 NSIC) but pulled off a huge upset with an 80-77 victory over No. 22 St. Cloud State University at Lysaker Gymnasium. UMC will look to improve with a solid core returning and 12 newcomers added into the fold.
MINNESOTA DULUTH - The Bulldogs tip off the 2013-14 regular season at home on Saturday with a match-up against NCAA III’s University of Wis.-Stout. The Blue Devils went 20-7 last season. Picked third in NSIC North, UMD’s new-look roster headlined by the division’s Preseason Player of the Year Brett Ervin will look to improve upon last season’s 8-19 record.
MINNESOTA STATE - The men’s basketball team will take part in the CCA Tipoff Classic this weekend in Anaheim, Calif., a three-day event beginning Friday as the Mavericks take on Texas A&M International at 6 p.m. (CT).
MSU MOORHEAD - MSUM opens the regular season at home on Nov. 9 against Mayville State. The game begins at 7 p.m. MSUM junior Jordan Riewer was listed as a player to watch in the preseason release. He averaged 11.3 points per game a year ago and led the team with 34 steals. He was second on the team with 113 assists.
MINOT STATE - Minot State University will begin the 2013-14 season with a home game against former Dakota Athletic Conference rival South Dakota Mines Friday at 8 p.m. at the MSU Dome. Both teams have moved up to the NCAA Division II ranks as SDM is in its first season as a full member of DII. Minot State defeated Dickinson State 79-70 and went 2-1 during its 2013 Foreign Tour in Canada during the exhibition season.
NORTHERN STATE - The Northern State men’s basketball team opens its season this weekend as the Wolves travel to Sioux Falls, S.D., for the Sanford Pentagon Tip-Off Classic. NSU will face Central Missouri Nov. 9 at 4 p.m. and will play Missouri Western in a 2 p.m. tip Nov. 10. Paul Sather enters his fourth year as the head man at NSU.
SIOUX FALLS - The Cougars open the season at home on Nov. 9 against Wisconsin-Superior. Derek Brown made 17 starts as a junior and the Clark (S.D.) product averaged 10.1 points, 2.0 rebounds, 1.4 steals and 1.2 per contest last season while scoring double-digits in nine of the Cougars’ first 13 games (15 overall).
SMSU - Southwest Minnesota State will prepare for the 2013-14 regular season next weekend hosting the SMSU Classic on Nov. 9-10. SMSU will take on Fort Hays State (Kan.) on Saturday, Nov. 9, starting at 5 p.m., before taking on Northwest Missouri State on Sunday, Nov. 10, with tip-off slated for 4 p.m. Upper Iowa will also play in the two-day event and will face both NWMSU and FHSU prior to SMSU’s game each day. FHSU and NWMSU were picked to finish 1-2 respectively in the preseason Mid-American Intercollegiate Association (MIAA) coaches and media poll.
ST. CLOUD STATE - The Huskies are the defending NSIC North Division champions after posting a 20-8 overall record in 2012-13 and finished league play with a 15-7 record. St. Cloud State advanced to its fifth straight NSIC Sanford Health post season tournament and advanced to the quarterfinals last season. Senior guard Damarius Cruz (Plymouth) is an NSIC player to watch. He started all 28 games in the Huskies backcourt last season and averaged 10.4 points a game. He shot 41.4 percent from three-point range and scored a career-high 25 points against the University of Sioux Falls on Jan. 12. Twice during the season he made six three-point baskets in a game. A team captain in 2013-14, Cruz is the Huskies top returning scorer. The Huskies will open the 2013-14 season at home in a non-conference game against Northwestern (Minn.) College on Saturday, Nov. 9 at 5:30 p.m.
UPPER IOWA - Head Men’s Basketball Coach Brooks McKowen will return to his former employer this weekend to begin the 2013 season as the team heads north to Marshall, Minnesota to compete in the SMSU Mustang Tournament on Nov. 9 and 10. This time, McKowen will be in full control of his team as he partakes in his first collegiate game as a head coach. The Peacocks – who finished the preseason with a 1-1 record – will face the Bearcats of Northwest Missouri State on Saturday in the season-opener before taking on the Tigers of Fort Hays State on Sunday. UIU is averaging 89 points per game this year led by returners Grant Lang (G, 6-4, 195, Jr., Ankeny, Ia./Ankeny HS), Bo Pagel (G, 6-2, 210, Jr., Sumner, Ia./Sumner-Fredericksburg HS) and Joey Woods (G, 6-2, 210, R-Sr., Naples, Fla./Golden Gate HS). The Peacocks are coming off their best season since moving up to the NCAA Division II level and joining the Northern Sun Conference prior to the 2006-07 season. UIU posted a record of 20-12 this past year which included the team’s first trip to the NCAA DII Central Regional Tournament. UIU will return 15 players from that team, including two starters and four more players who saw significant minutes on the court.
WAYNE STATE - Wayne State will open the 2013-14 regular season on Sunday afternoon visiting Nebraska-Kearney in a 2 p.m. contest.
WINONA STATE - Winona State will begin its season with three games in Puerto Rico, beginning with a matchup against American University on Friday. The team will then play Puerto Rico-Bayamon on Nov. 11 and Puerto Rico-Rio Piedras on Nov. 12. Winona State returns senior starters Taylor Cameron and Kellen Taylor from a team that went 27-8 last year and claimed the NCAA Central Region Championship while advancing to the NCAA Division II Elite Eight.