Preseason Playoff Pick

MIAC men's basketball preview courtesy of Matt Higgins and the MIAC office

BLOOMINGTON, Minn. -- As the 2014-15 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) Men's Basketball season gets set to tip off, the conference's magic number this season will be 10. Either the University of St. Thomas will win an incredible 10th-straight MIAC championship, or one of the other 10 teams will finally unseat the Tommies at the top.

With an exceptionally deep and strong group of challengers back, there's legitimate hope around the conference that someone other than St. Thomas is hoisting the MIAC trophy at the end of the regular season. Part of that hope comes from last season's MIAC Playoffs, where St. Olaf knocked off the Tommies in the title game to earn its first-ever MIAC postseason title and NCAA bid.

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Gustavus and Bethel also returns strong teams and familiar faces Saint John's and Augsburg also hope to have a say in the race for the title, and improved teams at Carleton, Hamline, Macalester and Saint Mary's all aspire for bigger things in 2014-15, and the battle for the MIAC title and six MIAC Playoff bid truly appears to be wide open as the new season draws near.

However, to be the best, you still have to beat the best, and St. Thomas has plenty of reasons to feel good about MIAC title No. 10 in a row. Head Coach John Tauer's team was 22-6 overall last year and 18-2 in league play to claim their ninth-straight championship, and the Tommies reached the MIAC Playoff championship game and received an at-large bid to the NCAA Division III Tournament, and it is still just a year removed from a trip to the Final Four.

St. Olaf broke through for its first MIAC Playoff title in Head Coach Dan Kosmoski's 20th season with a 22-6 overall record and a 17-3 MIAC mark to finish just a game behind the Tommies. Augsburg (18-8, 14-6 MIAC) grabbed third by a game over (Gustavus (17-10, 13-7 MIAC) and Saint John's (15-11, 13-7 MIAC), and all three return with high hopes of Playoff and title contention in 2014-15.  Bethel (14-13, 9-11 MIAC) impressed in the first year under Head Coach Doug Novak, especially in a MIAC Playoff quarterfinal win as the No. 6 seed.

Concordia (12-13, 8-12 MIAC) has nearly everyone back and hopes for a return to the postseason in 2014-15. Hamline (9-16 overall, 6-14 MIAC) showed some solid flashes in Head Coach Jim Hayes' first season and has a lot to build on. Macalester (3-17, 4-21 MIAC) and Saint Mary's (3-22, 2-18) also showed bright spots last season, and appear to be trending in the right direction.

The 2014-15 season tips off with nonconference action Saturday, so fans don't have to wait long for a first glimpse at this year's product. With so much returning talent and so many teams with high expectations, the 20-game conference schedule should feature countless marquee matchups night-in and night-out, and with such good basketball about to begin, the Minnesota winter suddenly doesn't seem so long.

COACHES CALL FOR TOMMIES' 10TH TITLE
According to the MIAC men's basketball coaches, St. Thomas will indeed complete a decade of dominance and claim its 10th-striaght MIAC title this season. The Tommies finished atop the 2014-15 MIAC Men's Basketball Preseason Coaches' Poll with eight of the 11 first-place votes and 98 total points, but the ballots also show that there is a crowded field of contenders all vying to take St. Thomas off the top line.

Two of the next three teams in the poll received first-place votes and the trio was separated by a total of just six points. Gustavus received 81 points and one first-place vote to finish second in the rankings, while Bethel (76 points) edged St. Olaf (75 points) for third, although the Oles grabbed the other two first-place votes, showing that the MIAC coaches think any of the top four could claim the title this season.

Saint John's was also predicted to return to the MIAC Playoffs with 67 points, just eight behind St. Olaf, and the coaches picked Concordia (54 points) to edge Augsburg (51 points) in a narrow battle for the sixth and final postseason bid. The MIAC coaches also had Carleton (38 points) sneaking past Hamline (36 points ) for eighth, and Macalester (18 points) and Saint Mary's (11 points) grabbing the final two spots.

COACHING STABILITY
After a fourth of the league changed coaches a year ago, it was all quiet on the coaching front during the offseason as all 11 head coaches return in 2014-15. In addition, the MIAC returns some of the longest-tenured coaches in all of Division III, led by Saint John's Jim Smith, who is entering his amazing 51st season in Collegeville. Carleton's Guy Kalland (32nd season), Gustavus' Mark Hanson (25th season), St. Olaf's Kosmoski (21st season) and Augsburg's Aaron Griess (10th season) add to the MIAC's impressive list of veteran coaches.

Bethel's Novak, Hamline's Hayes and Saint Mary's Jamison Rusthoven all enter their season after making impressive debuts a year ago. Concordia's Rich Glas (also the Cobbers' Athletic Director) enters his seventh season as the team's head coach, Macalester's Tim Whittle is in season No. 6 with the Scots and St. Thomas' Tauer will aim for his fourth-straight MIAC title in as many seasons, giving him an incredible start to his head coaching career.

WHO TO WATCH FOR
If the Tommies are to get title No. 10, they'll rely on a trio of upperclassmen for both production and leaderhsip. The team graduated All-MIAC selections Zach Riedeman (F) and Erik Tengwall (G), but welcome back senior All-MIAC center Conner Nord and senior guard Marcus Alipate, as well as junior forward Taylor Montero. Tauer's team always seems to have the next wave of talent waiting in the wings as well, evidenced by the nine-straight MIAC championships.

Gustavus has three frontcourt players back who earned MIAC honors last season, despite the loss of All-MIAC guard Jordan Dick and an injury to talented center Brian Jacobs. The Gusties should be one of the league's best teams in the paint, as junior forward Brody Ziegler was an All-MIAC selection last season, senior forward Martin Feddersen was an Honorable Mention pick and sophomore center Peter Kruize earned a spot on the All-Freshman Team.

The Royals were good a season ago, and could be even better this year with the return of injured All-MIAC star Kyle Zimmerman, and the continued improvement of guard Bryce Wojta, who was an All-MIAC and All-Freshman pick last season. Guard Trevor Hall is also back for Bethel, which hopes to build on last year's postseason success. Speaking of postseason success, the MIAC Playoff champion Oles may have graduated star Connor Gunderson, but hopes are high for another trip to the NCAA tournament thanks to the return of a standout backcourt tandem. All-MIAC and All-Defensive Team honoree Sterling Nielsen and All-MIAC Honorable Mention selection Justin Pahl are both back to hopefully lead the Oles back into title contention.

Saint John's will have to replace some talented graduates, but has a balanced group back with junior wing Mitchell Kuck, senior post Blake Maslonkowski, and the MIAC's Sixth Man-of-the-Year, Alex Schmitt, presumably headed for a larger role this season. The Cobbers bring back all of their key parts, starting with All-MIAC forward Jordan Bolger. Sharpshooters Brandon Giese and Tom Fraase are also back to bolster the expectations in Moorhead.

Augsburg has the daunting task of replacing MIAC Player-of-the-Year Dan Kornbaum in the post and two other All-MIAC graduates in Andy Seidlitz and Noah Veach, but guard Parker Hines and talented forwards Brett Rasmussen and Joey Sonnenfeld are both back in Minneapolis. Carleton also graduated its top player in All-MIAC forward Taylor Hanson, but senior guard Shane McSparron will be back to lead the Knights, and hopes are high for sophomores Tianen Chen and Peter Bakker-Arkema to take another step forward this season.

All-MIAC forward Dior Ford is back to lead Hamline this season, and he'll be joined in a potent Piper frontcourt by fellow seniors Austin Johnson and Bennett Cooper. Macalester has some great building blocks in junior All-MIAC Honorable Mention guard Dylan Kilgour and All-Rookie Team center Kareem Ismail,. Saint Mary's Will Swiggum returns after earning All-Conference Honorable Mention honors last season, and he'll team with sophomore forward Wylie Ferron, who started all 25 games as a rookie.

CIRCLE THESE DATES
Fortunately for MIAC basketball fans, action is right around the corner, as the season tips off Saturday with eight of the league's teams in action on opening day and a ninth starting its season Sunday. All 11 MIAC teams will open with nonconference action, leading up to the start of conference play.

MIAC play will officially begin on Wednesday, Dec. 3, with four full dates of conference play prior to the semester and Holiday break. Then, the action really heats up once the calendar flips to 2015. MIAC play resumes on Jan. 3 and will run through Saturday, Feb. 21. The MIAC Playoffs will follow on Feb. 25, 27 and March 1, and the NCAA Tournament will begin the following weekend.

2014-15 MIAC Men's Basketball Preseason Coaches' Poll

Coaches voted for every team in the conference except their own team. Points were assigned for each vote (10 for first, nine for second, etc.) Teams are ranked in order of highest point total to lowest with vote totals listed and first-place votes shown in parentheses.
 

2014-15 MIAC Men's Basketball Playoffs

The 2014-15 MIAC Playoffs will feature the top six teams in the conference standings playing in a high-seed-host, single-elimination postseason tournament. The two top seeds will receive a bye to the semifinal round, while the No. 3 seed will host the No. 6 seed, and the No. 4 seed will host the No. 5 seeds during the quarterfinals, which will be held Wednesday, Feb. 25. The top remaining seed will play at the No. 2 seed and the lowest remaining seed will play at the No. 1 seed during the semifinals, which are scheduled for Friday, Feb. 27. The championship game is set for Sunday, March 1, with the two semifinal winners meeting on home court of the top remaining seed. The winner will receive the MIAC's automatic bid to the 2014-15 NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Tournament.