Northern State men’s basketball has been chosen as the 21st best team in the nation in the pre-season National Association of Basketball Coaches poll released this week.
Picked as the top team in the nation is Northwest Missouri State, the team Northern will open its season up against on the road next Friday.
Other NSIC schools in the poll includes Minnesota-Duluth at #12.
2023-24 Preseason Coaches’ Poll
| Record | Points | Previous | |
| 1. Northwest Missouri State (10) | 31-3 | 385 | 2 |
| 2. Nova Southeastern, Fla. (5) | 36-0 | 352 | 1 |
| 3. West Liberty, W. Va. | 33-4 | 333 | 5 |
| 4. Indiana, Pa. | 32-2 | 315 | 3 |
| 5. Indianapolis, Ind. (1) | 26-5 | 312 | 9 |
| 6. Lincoln Memorial, Tenn. | 30-5 | 300 | 12 |
| 7. West Texas A&M | 27-7 | 273 | 13 |
| 8. UNC Pembroke | 26-4 | 269 | 8 |
| 9. Central Oklahoma | 26-6 | 214 | 11 |
| 10. Augusta, Ga. | 27-6 | 211 | 10 |
| 11. Point Loma, Calif. | 29-4 | 200 | 4 |
| 12. Minnesota Duluth | 26-10 | 195 | NR |
| 13. Cal State San Bernardino | 31-4 | 159 | 6 |
| 14. Colorado Mesa | 25-6 | 150 | 20 |
| 15. Fort Lewis, Colo. | 29-4 | 141 | 7 |
| 16. Bentley, Mass. | 23-7 | 134 | 25 |
| 17. Black Hills State, S.D. | 29-6 | 122 | 21 |
| 18. Colorado School of Mines | 26-6 | 100 | 14 |
| 19. Angelo State, Texas | 26-7 | 93 | 23 |
| 20. Emporia State, Kan. | 23-9 | 89 | NR |
| 21. Northern State, S.D. | 24-7 | 84 | 18 |
| 22. Chico State, Calif. | 13-16 | 82 | NR |
| 23. Alabama Huntsville | 27-8 | 78 | NR |
| 24. West Alabama | 27-6 | 65 | 17 |
| 25. Mercyhurst, Pa. | 25-6 | 61 | 16 |
Others receiving votes: Saint Martin’s (Wash.) 49, St. Thomas Aquinas (N.Y.) 41, Virginia Union 40, USC Aiken 38, North Georgia 37, Southeastern Oklahoma State 21, Azusa Pacific (Calif.) 20, Florida Southern 20, Southern Nazarene (Okla.) 20, Minnesota State 20, Fairmont State (W.Va.) 15, Fayetteville State (N.C.) 15, Ferris State (Mich.) 15, Ashland (Ohio) 12, Missouri-St. Louis 12, Emmanuel (Ga.) 11, Northern Michigan 10, Saint Anselm (N.H.) 10, Saint Leo (Fla.) 10, Daemen (N.Y.) 9, Fort Hays State (Kan.) 9, Embry-Riddle (Fla.) 8, Catawba (N.C.) 7, MSU Moorhead 7, McKendree (Ill.) 6, Miles (Ala.) 5, New Haven (Conn.) 4, Academy of Art (Calif.) 3, Claflin (S.C.) 3, Walsh (Ohio) 3, Illinois Springfield 2, Hillsdale (Mich.) 1.
