By TOMMY REZAC
St. Joseph Post
KANSAS CITY - Defending regular season and MIAA tournament champion Northwest Missouri State was picked to win the league in men's basketball again this season.
The Bearcats received 11 first place votes in the coaches' poll and nine more in the media poll.
Northwest went 31-3 in the 2022-23 season, winning at least a share of the MIAA regular season title for a 10th straight season and winning the conference tournament for the seventh time in eight years.
Head coach Ben McCollum lost his top defender and rebounder in Diego Bernard, but Northwest returns three starters and 13 letter winners in all.
The Northwest men open the season in the Hillyard Tipoff Classic at the MWSU Fieldhouse in St. Joseph on November 10th with a game against Northern State.
The Missouri Western men's basketball team was picked seventh in the coaches' poll and eighth in the media poll.
The Griffons, coming off of a 14-16 campaign last season, return seven players with starting experience and return over 75 percent of their scoring and minutes from that season.
The Griffon men also open things up at the Hillyard Tipoff Classic. Missouri Western will face Augustana at the MWSU Fieldhouse on Nov. 10 at 5:30.
Missouri Western has a home exhibition against Benedictine on Friday, Oct. 20 at 6 p.m. They also play at Truman State in an exhibition on Sunday, Oct. 29 at 3 p.m.
On the women's side, Missouri Western was picked second by both the league's coaches and media. The Griffons received three first place votes in both polls.
Missouri Western went 24-7 last year and finished third in the MIAA regular season standings, but were still denied a bid to the NCAA tournament after a loss to Fort Hays State in the first round of the MIAA tournament this past March.
The Griffon women have ample talent coming back as well with six returning starters and nine returning letter winners in all.
The Griffons have an exhibition against MidAmerica Nazarene at home on Wednesday, October 25 at 6 p.m. They also play at Division I Missouri State on Wednesday, November 1 at 6:30 p.m.
Missouri Western's first official women's basketball game is Friday, November 10 at St. Joseph's Civic Arena against Winona State. Tip-off in that game is set for 7:30 p.m.
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