Men's Basketball | 10/27/2016 12:35:00 PM

BURNSVILLE, Minn. -- The University of Sioux Falls men's basketball team, which was 17-13 a year ago, has been picked to finish sixth overall and third in the NSIC South, according to the NSIC Preseason Men's Basketall Coaches Poll which was released by the league office Thursday.
 
The Cougars, which finished 11-11 in the NSIC for seventh place and advanced to the second round of the NSIC Tournament in 2015-16, received a first-place vote while earning 172 points overall. In the preseason poll, USF was picked to finish just behind fifth-place Winona State with 174 points. Minnesota State earned 11 first-place votes and 220 overall vote points and head into the season as the league favorite. Augustana was second with 190 points followed by MSU Moorhead at 183 and St. Cloud State at 183, which were both tied for third overall. In the South Division, MSU had five first-place votes and 47 total points, which was ahead of Augustana with two first-place votes and 42 points and USF, which was third with 36 points and a first-place vote. Winona State, SMSU, Upper Iowa, Concordia-St. Paul and Wayne State round out the South Division poll. MSU Moorhead was the pick in the North Division with 46 points and four first-place votes with St. Cloud State, second with 44 points and four first-place votes.
 
As part of the preseason poll, the coaches also named Jon Fuqua of MSU Mankato as the NSIC Preseason Player of the Year in the South Division. Gage Davis of St. Cloud State was the NSIC Preseason Player of the Year in the North Division. USF's standout senior guard Mack Johnson, who averaged 17.5 points per game and led the league in free throw percentage a year ago, was USF's "Player to Watch."
 
NSIC Poll: 1. Minnesota State (11), 220; 2. Augustana (2), 190; 3. MSU Moorhead (1), 183; 3. St. Cloud State, 183; 5. Winona State (1), 174; 6. Sioux Falls (1), 172; 7. Northern State, 151; 8. Southwest Minnesota State, 124; 9. Upper Iowa, 102; 10. U-Mary, 96; 11. Concordia-St. Paul, 73; 12. Minnesota-Duluth, 72; 12. Minot State, 72; 14. Bemidji State, 57; 15. Wayne State, 29; 16. Minnesota Crookston, 22.
 
NSIC South Poll: 1. Minnesota State (5), 47; 2. Augustana (2), 42; 3. Sioux Falls (1), 36; 4. Winona State, 35; 5. Southwest Minnesota State, 23; 6. Upper Iowa, 20; 7. Concordia-St. Paul, 14; and 8. Wayne State, 7.
 
NSIC North Poll: 1. MSU Moorhead (4), 46; 2. St. Cloud State (4), 44; 3. Northern State, 30; 4. U-Mary, 28; 5. Minot State, 21; 6. Minnesota-Duluth, 20; 7. Bemidji State, 18; and 8. Minnesota Crookston, 8.
A year ago, USF was 17-13, including 11-11 and tied for seventh in the league overall and fourth in the South.
           
USF, which will travel to Iowa State for an exhibition game at 6 p.m. on Sunday (Nov. 6) in Ames, Iowa, is looking to move up the South Division league standings and back to the 20-win mark. In eight seasons with the Cougars, ninth year head coach Chris Johnson, who had career win 150 during the 2015-16 season, has 157 career wins including 141 at USF. He has had four 20-win seasons, three post season appearances and one regular season conference crown at USF.
           
"A year ago, we struck a balance by playing tougher defense while also being able to put points on the board," said Johnson. "We have the talent level to be a really good team. Our success will be determined by how we defend," he said.
           
Led by Johnson, USF is a team that has the weapons to put up points. As the numbers reflected, good offense was matched with solid defense a year ago. USF ranked 10th in the NSIC with 78.1 points scored per game and tied for second in points allowed at 72.6 ppg. Part of the reason, USF went from 8-21 in 2014-15 to 17-13 in 2015-16 was the balance of USF.
 
A year ago, USF shot 47.4 percent from the field for sixth in the league and allowed just 43.5 percent, a mark that ranked third in the NSIC. The Cougars also had solid numbers in three-point shooting, hitting 39 percent on offense for 4th in the league, and holding opponents to 33.1 percent in three-point defense for second best in the NSIC. Also, USF was fifth in rebounding defense (33.9 rpg), fifth in assists (14.6 per game) and  ranked first in blocked shots at 3.9 per game. 
           
"Defense is always going to be a key to a team's success and it was for us a year ago," said Johnson. "We have a lot of people who can put points on the board, and last year, we defended as well which led to some success. Our ability to defend will play a huge role in the year ahead."
           
M. Johnson earned first team all-league honors and became USF's first player ever named to the All-NSIC first team. He leads a talented group that is mixed with seniors, juniors and freshman. A year ago, Johnson, who ranks 17th all-time at USF with 1,194 points, scored a program D2-best 525 points last year, which ranks 11th on USF all-time season points chart. He averaged 17.5 ppg, which ranked 10th in the NSIC. He also accumulated 114 rebounds (3.8 rpg) and dished 88 assists (2.9 apg). M. Johnson led the league in free throw shooting at 89.6 percent (95-of-106). He was seventh in the NSIC in steals at 1.4 per game and fourth in three-point field goals per game at 2.4. Johnson, who has 77 games with at least one three pointer and 26 with three or more treys, has 182 career three-pointers, which ranks fourth on USF's all-time list. Also, he has 16 20-point games and three over 30 points, including a career-best 39 vs. Upper Iowa on Dec. 4, 2015.

He will be joined by sophomore standout Drew Guebert (10.4 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 41.8% 3 pt pct.), senior forward Daniel Hurtt (11.6 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 38% 3 pt. pct.), senior guard Kebu Johnson (5.7 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 4.6 apg), senior guard/forward Clint Thomas (9.5 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 41.7 3 pt. pct), junior forward Tom Aase (3.8 ppg, 1.87 bpg, 4.2 rpg), junior guard Zach Wessels (2.0 ppg, 1.8 rpg) and forward Cutler Finneman (1.8 ppg). Aase ranked second in the league with 1.9 blocks per game, swatting 56 in 30 games. K. Johnson ranked 48th nationally and fifth in the league in assists and his 138 total is the sixth best total on the all-time single season charts. He has 16 games with five or more assists. Thomas made 60 treys a year ago, which ranks eighth all-time for a season a year ago. Twice he made seven threes in a game twice and had a three in 25 games and at least two 15 times.

In addition, USF brought in a talented group of newcomers, including freshman forward Teachloath Pal, who averaged a double-double of 18.7 points and 12.8 rebounds with six blocks per game as a senior for Fridley High. Pal, who converted 58 percent of his shots from the field and 78 percent at the foul line, set a single season blocks record with 182.  Junior guard Justin Taylor joins USF after averaging 12.9 ppg, 5.6 rebounds and a block at Illinois Central. Freshman Austin Slater, a 6-8 forward from Andover, Minn., joins USF after averaging 11.5 ppg, 10.1 rebounds, 1.6 apg and 1.9 blocks per game. Freshman forward Devin Green, who is 6-7, 240, averaged double digits in points and rebounds at Cascade, Iowa, while freshman Tristen Teichmeier, a 6-6 forward, averaged 17 points and 15 rebounds for Sioux Falls Roosevelt last year, leading them to sixth place in the state tourney.

The NSIC regular season championship 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 Sun.-Tues., Feb. 26-28 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. 22.

?