Men's Hoops Slotted Second in GNAC Preseason Coaches' Poll
WINTHROP, Mass. – The University of Saint Joseph (USJ) men's basketball team was picked to finish second in the 2023-24 Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) Preseason Coaches' Poll, it was announced Thursday afternoon by the conference front office. The Blue Jays, who have won 48 consecutive regular season conference games, including going undefeated over the past three full regular seasons, received five of the possible 15 first-place votes and 211 total points in the poll to claim the preseason runner-up position. USJ is set to lift the lid on its 2023-24 campaign Wednesday, November 8 versus Yeshiva University inside James A. Calhoun Gymnasium at 7:00 p.m.
Albertus Magnus, who handed USJ its first loss of the season in the GNAC Championship last February to claim its ninth title in program history, was selected atop the poll. The Falcons garnered eight first-place votes and 218 poll points to rank just ahead of the Blue Jays in this year's voting which was conducted by league's 15 head coaches. Since USJ started its program in 2018, the GNAC trophy has not left the state of Connecticut over the last four full seasons as both teams have met in the GNAC title game each year, with Albertus winning in 2019 and 2023 and USJ winning in 2020 and 2022.
Saint Joseph was slotted second in the poll with 211 points and five first-place votes. USJ is coming off its best season of its meteoric five-year program history a year ago, finishing with an overall record of 29-2, including a perfect 18-0 mark in GNAC play. After falling in the GNAC Championship to the Falcons, the Blue Jays earned the GNAC's first-ever at-large bid to the NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Tournament where they went on to advance to the Sectional Semifinals before falling to Wheaton (Ill.) in the NCAA Tournament Third Round. The Blue Jays' wins over Chatham and Williams in the NCAA Tournament First Round and Second Round, respectively, marked the first NCAA Tournament wins in school history across all sports.
Emmanuel and Johnson & Wales landed in the third and fourth spots in the 2023-24 GNAC Preseason Coaches' Poll with 194 and 153 points, respectively. Both schools also received one of the last two first-place votes. Rounding out the top five in this year's voting was Regis and Saint Joseph's (Maine), which each earned 143 points to tie for the position.
New addition to the league, Mitchell, collected 112 points for seventh place followed immediately by Lasell, which placed eighth with 111 points. Dean (107 points) and Norwich (99) rounded out the top-10.
The remainder of this year's poll consisted of Anna Maria (78), Colby-Sawyer (73), Rivier (72), New England College (60), and Elms (26), in that order.
Tipoff for the 2023-24 men's basketball season is on Wednesday, November 8 as teams open with non-conference action. Conference play gets underway on Saturday, December 2. Teams will complete a 14-game single round-robin conference schedule with the top-10 teams at the end of the regular season earning berths into the 2024 GNAC Men's Basketball Championship Tournament.
Postseason play starts with a Play-In Round featuring the bottom four tournament seeds on Monday, February 19 with those winners advancing to the GNAC Quarterfinals on Tuesday, February 20. Following the quarterfinals, the remaining four teams will play in the GNAC Semifinals on Thursday, February 22 with the tournament culminating in the GNAC Championship game on Saturday, February 24. The winner of the championship game will be named the 2023-24 GNAC Men's Basketball Champion and earn the league's automatic qualifier into the 2024 NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Championship Tournament.
For the complete poll results, please see below.
2023-24 GNAC Men's Basketball Preseason Poll
1. Albertus Magnus….......................................................................218 (8 First Place Votes)
2. University of Saint Joseph (Conn.)….....................................211 (5)
3. Emmanuel….................................................................................194 (1)
4. Johnson & Wales…......................................................................153 (1)
T-5. Regis….......................................................................................143
T-5. Saint Joseph's (Maine)…..........................................................143
7. Mitchell…......................................................................................112
8. Lasell….........................................................................................111
9. Dean…..........................................................................................107
10. Norwich…....................................................................................99
11. Anna Maria…...............................................................................78
12. Colby-Sawyer…............................................................................73
13. Rivier….........................................................................................72
14. New England College…..............................................................60
15. Elms…..........................................................................................26
About the GNAC
The Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) is an NCAA Division III association made up of 16 member institutions and over 4000 student-athletes across the New England region. Founded in 1995, the GNAC annually sponsors and administers 22 championships, while balancing academic integrity, athletic opportunity and community involvement in an effort to enhance the student-athlete experience.
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