MILWAUKEE, Wis. (naccsports.org) --- Defending champion Wisconsin Lutheran College and runner-up St. Norbert College are wide favorites to repeat those placings according to the 2024-2025 NACC Men's Basketball Preseason Poll released Wednesday.
The Warriors received 335 points compared to the Green Knights' 308 according to the results culled from the voting pool, which consists of the league's head coaches and athletics communications professionals. Wisconsin Lutheran also held a 24-2 advantage in first-place votes.
Benedictine University (246) is distant third, while Milwaukee School of Engineering (221) edged Concordia University Wisconsin (217) by just four points for fourth with Aurora University and Rockford University a short distance back in a tie for sixth place with 209 points each. Concordia University Chicago (148), Edgewood College (127), Dominican University (110), Illinois Institute of Technology (104), Marian University (77), and Lakeland University (55) round out the poll.
2023-2024 Recap: Wisconsin Lutheran (16-2) edged St. Norbert (15-3) by one game to capture the program's fifth NACC title in six years, finishing with a 16-2 record. The Green Knights took the lone regular-season matchup between the programs, 83-76, in De Pere in early January, but the Warriors prevailed 78-62 in the rematch in Milwaukee to win the 2024 NACC Tournament title for the second time in four years (2021, 2024).
Wisconsin Lutheran advance to the NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Championship, pushing regional host (RV) Washington University in St. Louis to overtime before falling 71-68.
Wisconsin Lutheran senior
Ryan Broeckel repeated as NACC Men's Basketball Player of the Year, while St. Norbert's
Jamison Nickolai was named NACC Defensive Player of the Year and Aurora's
Isaiah Davis was named NACC Freshman of the Year. NACC Coaching Staff of the Year honors went to Wisconsin Lutheran, led by
Aaron Aanonsnen. Broeckel was also named a First Team All-American by D3hoops.com, while a total of five NACC players received all-region (D3hoops.com) or all-district (NABC) honors and Aanonsen was named the region/district's top coach by both D3hoops.com and the NABC.
National Polls: Wisconsin Lutheran is 15th in the D3hoops.com Preseason Poll.
2024-2025 Schedule: The schedule gets underway Friday, Nov. 8, with seven games -- Rockford is at Martin Luther, MSOE ventures down I-94 to battle Lake Forest, Wisconsin Lutheran hosts Elmhurst, Lakeland entertains Carroll (Wis.), Dominican welcomes Knox, Marian is at UW-Superior, and Aurora opens at home against Dubuque.
The initial NACC contest is Saturday, Nov. 16 as MSOE hosts Aurora, while the first full date of conference play is Wednesday, Dec. 4 with Marian traveling to Illinois Tech, Lakeland hosting Edgewood, MSOE entertaining Rockford, Concordia Wisconsin venturing to Aurora, Dominican making the trek to St. Norbert, and Concordia Chicago traveling to Wisconsin Lutheran. The final date of regular-season play is Saturday, Feb. 22.
NACC Tournament: The top eight teams in the final standings qualify for the 2025 NACC Men's Basketball Tournament. Quarterfinal play is slated for Wednesday, Feb. 26, followed by semifinals on Friday, Feb. 28, and the final on Sunday, March 2. The tournament champion receives the NACC's automatic berth in the 2025 NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Championship.
2024-2025 NACC Men's Basketball Preseason Poll
| Institution (FPV) |
Points |
| Wisconsin Lutheran (24) |
335 |
| St. Norbert (2) |
308 |
| Benedictine |
246 |
| MSOE |
221 |
| Concordia Wisconsin |
217 |
| Aurora |
209 |
| Rockford |
209 |
| Concordia Chicago |
148 |
| Edgewood |
127 |
| Dominican |
110 |
| Illinois Tech |
104 |
| Marian |
77 |
| Lakeland |
55 |