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BISMARCK, N.D. (Playnorthstar.com) – Valley City State (N.D.) collected five first-place votes to claim as the preseason favorite to win the 2021-22 North Star Athletic Association Men’s Basketball title, the conference preseason poll was announced Monday.

The Vikings totaled 59 points in the preseason poll.  VCSU was tied for second place in last year’s NSAA men’s basketball team standings with Bellevue (Neb.) with 9-5 record.  The Vikings was 19-7 overall record last season.

Mayville State (N.D.) picked up two first-place votes and 50 points to finish second in the preseason poll.  The Comets won the 2020-21 regular-season title with a 10-3 record.  Bellevue (Neb.) finished third after earning the final first-place vote and tallied 47 points.  BU won the NSAA postseason conference tournament title last season and advanced to the NAIA Men’s Basketball National Tournament’ Opening Round (finished 20-14 overall record last season).

Dakota State (S.D.) finished fourth in the conference preseason poll with 38 points.  Viterbo (Wis.) and Dickinson State (N.D.) were tied for fifth place with 33 points.  Waldorf (Iowa) was picked to finish seventh after collecting 18 points, followed by Presentation (S.D.) eighth with 10 points.

Points are awarded on an 8-1 basis and coaches could vote for their own team.

The NSAA conference season gets underway on Dec. 4 with traveling partners playing each other.  Dakota State hosts Bellevue; Valley City State visits Dickinson State; Mayville State travels to Presentation and Waldorf welcomes Viterbo.

Each NSAA member will be play a total of 14 conference game, playing seven home games and seven road games during the conference season.

The top six teams in the North Star Athletic Association men’s basketball team standings will advance to the postseason tournament, which is set for an opening round on Feb. 22, 2022.  The No. 3 seed hosts the No. 6 seed, while No. 4 seed hosts the No. 5 seed in the opening round.

Two opening round winners will join the top two seeded teams in the NSAA Men’s Basketbal Postseason Final Four, held at the Civic Center in Watertown, S.D. on Feb. 26-27, 2022.

The NSAA’s tournament champion will receive an automatic bid to the NAIA National Tournament’s Opening Round on March 11-12, 2022.  The winner of the national tournament’s opening round will move on to the final site in the NAIA National Championships, held in Kansas City, Mo. from March 17-22, 2021.

Here is the complete 2021-22 NSAA Men’s Basketball Coaches’ Preseason Poll:

2021-22 North Star Athletic Association Men’s Basketball Preseason Poll
Rank School Points
1 Valley City State (N.D.) (5) 59
2 Mayville State (N.D.) (2) 50
3 Bellevue (Neb.) (1) 47
4 Dakota State (S.D.) 38
T5 Dickinson State (N.D.) 33
T5 Viterbo (Wis.) 33
7 Waldorf (Iowa) 18
8 Presentation (S.D.) 10
*First-place votes in parenthesis