MILWAUKEE, Wis. (naccsports.org) --- The two teams that stood shoulder-to-shoulder atop the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference (NACC) men's basketball standings in 2022-23 are picked to do so again this season as Wisconsin Lutheran College edged St. Norbert College for the the top spot in the 2023-2024 NACC Men's Basketball Preseason Poll released Monday.
The Warriors received 323 points compared to the Green Knights' 320 according to the results culled from the voting pool, which consists of the league's head coaches and athletics communications professionals. St. Norbert did, however, hold a 13-12 edge in first-place votes.
Benedictine University (262) is third ahead of Concordia University Chicago (226; 1 first-place vote), while Aurora leads a tight grouping for what would be the final four spots in the NACC Tournament race. The Spartans are fifth with 194 points, just ahead of Marian University (188), Rockford University (182), and Illinois Institute of Technology (173). Lakeland University (140) sits ninth and Concordia University Wisconsin (131) is tenth, while Milwaukee School of Engineering (118), Edgewood College (73), and Dominican University (36) round out the poll.
2022-2023 Recap: St. Norbert and Wisconsin Lutheran shared the league title last season with matching 14-3 marks during the conference season. The teams split their two regular-season matchups, but the Green Knights won the rubber match, defeating the Warriors, 71-59, in Milwaukee to win the 2023 NACC Tournament.
St. Norbert advanced to the NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Championship, upending No. 21 Carleton, 81-77, in the first round. The Green Knights were sidelined by a 75-71 loss at regional host and No. 9-ranked Wheaton (Ill.).
New Coaches: There are two new head coaches in the NACC this season.
Rashaan Surles takes over at Concordia Chicago in a full-time capacity. He was originally hired as an assistant in October 2022 before taking over as interim head coach in January of this year. Prior to his time in River Forest, Surles spent time with the programs at Texas Tech University and the University of Georgia.
The other change was made just down Division Street as
Troy Tonsil is now in charge at Dominican. Tonsil had been an assistant at his alma mater since 2012.
2023-2024 Schedule: The schedule gets underway Wednesday, Nov. 8, with seven games --
St. Norbert hosts Ripon, Illinois Tech is at UW-Oshkosh, Lakeland travels to Lake Forest, Aurora entertains Eureka, Benedictine makes the short trip to Wheaton (Ill.), Dominican is at Knox, and Rockford hosts Judson.
The initial NACC contest is Tuesday, Nov. 21 as Concordia Chicago travels to St. Norbert, while the first full date of conference play is Wednesday, Nov. 29 with Illinois Tech traveling to St. Norbert, Rockford hosting Lakeland, Marian making the trip to Edgewood, Wisconsin Lutheran entertaining Benedictine, and Concordia Wisconsin hosting MSOE. The final date of regular-season play is Saturday, Feb. 17.
NACC Tournament: The top eight teams in the final standings qualify for the 2024 NACC Men's Basketball Tournament. Quarterfinal play is slated for Tuesday, Feb. 20, followed by semifinals on Thursday, Feb. 22, and the final on Saturday, Feb. 24. The tournament champion receives the NACC's automatic berth in the 2024 NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Championship.
2023-2024 NACC Men's Basketball Preseason Poll
| Institution (FPV) |
Points |
| Wisconsin Lutheran (12) |
323 |
| St. Norbert (13) |
320 |
| Benedictine |
262 |
| Concordia Chicago (1) |
226 |
| Aurora |
194 |
| Marian |
188 |
| Rockford |
182 |
| Illinois Tech |
173 |
| Lakeland |
140 |
| Concordia Wisconsin |
131 |
| MSOE |
118 |
| Edgewood |
73 |
| Dominican |
36 |