2022-23 Preseason NSIC Men's Basketball Coaches' Poll Release

            The Wayne State College men's basketball team was picked to finish first in the NSIC South Division and third overall in the 2022-23 NSIC Preseason Coaches' Poll released Thursday morning by the league office in Burnsville, Minnesota.  Wildcat sophomore guard Justin Eagins was listed as the Wildcat to Watch in the NSIC this season.
            The Wildcats return four starters from last year's team that was 14-12 overall and placed third in the NSIC South Division with an 11-8 league record.
            Minnesota Duluth collected 13 of 16 first-place votes and is listed as the preseason favorite in NSIC men's basketball this season with 222 points in voting conducted by league coaches.  MSU Moorhead was second with 206 points and one first-place ballot while Wayne State came in third with 197 points and the remaining two first-place votes.  Northern State (179) and Upper Iowa (161) close out the top five teams.
            Augustana edged Minnesota State for sixth (147-145) followed by Southwest Minnesota State (123), Sioux Falls (116) and Winona State (104) rounding out the top 10 teams.
            In the NSIC South Division poll, Wayne State was a unanimous selection with seven first-place votes and 49 points (coaches can not vote for own team).  Upper Iowa was second with 39 points and one first-place ballot with Minnesota State third at 34 points.  Augustana (31), Southwest Minnesota State (23), Sioux Falls (23), Winona State (17) and Concordia-St. Paul (7) closed out the South Division poll.
            Eagins, a 6-3 sophomore guard from Downers Grove, Illinois (Downers Grove South HS), was a First Team All-NSIC selection last season and the only Wildcat player to appear and start all 26 games averaging 16.2 points and 4.7 rebounds per contest.  He ranked 14^th in the league last season in scoring and was fourth in the NSIC in steals per game (1.6) and scored double figures in 23 of 26 games.  As a redshirt freshman in the 2020-21 season, Eagins was named NSIC Freshman of the Year after averaging 8.9 points and 3.9 rebounds per game off the bench.
            Wayne State is scheduled to open the 2022-23 season on Friday, November 11^th when the Wildcats host Southeastern Oklahoma State at 6 p.m. in the NSIC/GAC Challenge at Rice Auditorium in Wayne.