EVANSVILLE, Ind. – University of Southern Indiana Men’s and Women’s Basketball have been picked to win the Great Lakes Valley Conference East Division in the preseason polls released today. The preseason poll was voted upon by the leagues 15 head coaches.
USI Women’s Basketball, which is picked to win the East for the second-straight year, received 15 points and three first-place votes. The Screaming Eagles were followed by Lewis University, who received 14 points and 2 first place votes, and the University of Indianapolis, who was third with 10 points. The East Division was rounded out by the University of Illinois Springfield (six points) and McKendree University (five points).
The 2021 GLVC Tournament finalists, Truman State University and Drury University were forecasted to win the Central and West Division, respectively. USI missed the GLVC Tournament (won by Drury) last spring due to COVID.
USI Women’s Basketball finished the COVID-shortened 2020-21 schedule with an 11-5 overall and GLVC record, winning the GLVC East Division. The Eagles, who return all five starters and all but one player from last year’s squad, are led by first-team All-GLVC senior guard Emma DeHart (Indianapolis, Indiana) and second-team All-GLVC junior forward Hannah Haithcock (Washington Courthouse, Ohio).
DeHart posted a team-best 16.1 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 3.3 assists per game, while Haithcock averaged 12.0 points and a team-best 6.9 rebounds. DeHart, currently, ranks 21st all-time in scoring with 905 points, 95 points away from becoming the 19th USI Women’s Basketball player to reach 1,000 points.
USI Men’s Basketball, which is picked to win the GLVC East for the second-straight year, were forecast to place first with 13 points and three first-place votes. The Eagles were followed by Illinois Springfield with 11 points and two first-place votes and Lewis with 11 points. The East Division was rounded out by UIndy (eight points) and McKendree (7 points).
The University of Missouri-St. Louis was picked to win the Central Division with 15 points and three first-place tallies, while the 2021 GLVC Tournament finalist Drury was forecast to win the West with an identical 15 points and 3 first-place votes.
USI Men’s Basketball, which also received votes for the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) preseason top 25 poll, concluded the 2020-21 campaign with a berth in the NCAA Division II Midwest Regional, advancing to the semifinals after missing the GLVC Tournament due to COVID. The Eagles were 12-5 overall and 11-4 in the GLVC last year in the COVID-shortened schedule and won the GLVC East Division title.
USI, which returns four of five starters and a 10 of 14 players this fall, is led in to 2021-22 by junior guard Jelani Simmons (Columbus, Ohio), who was named to the NCAA II Midwest Regional All-Tournament team with 13.5 points per game. Second-team All-GLVC senior guard Mateo Rivera follows with 12.9 points, 6.4 rebounds and 4.1 assists per contest.
GLVCÂ WOMEN’S PRESEASON POLL
| EAST | CENTRAL | WEST | |||
| Rank/School | Points (1st) | Rank/School | Points (1st) | Rank/School | Points (1st) |
| 1. Southern Indiana | 15 (3) | 1. Truman State | 16 (4) | 1. Drury | 16 (4) |
| 2. Lewis | 14 (2) | 2. Missouri-St. Louis | 13 (1) | 2. Rockhurst | 13 (1) |
| 3. Indianapolis | 10 | 3. Lindenwood | 10 | 3. Southwest Baptist | 9 |
| 4. Illinois Springfield | 6 | 4. Maryville | 7 | 4. Missouri S&T | 8 |
| 5. McKendree | 5 | 5. Quincy | 4 | 5. William Jewell | 4 |
GLVC MEN’S PRESEASON POLL
| EAST | CENTRAL | WEST | |||
| Rank/School | Points (1st) | Rank/School | Points (1st) | Rank/School | Points (1st) |
| 1. Southern Indiana | 13 (3) | 1. Missouri-St. Louis | 15 (3) | 1. Drury | 15 (3) |
| 2. Illinois Springfield | 11 (2) | 2. Truman State | 14 (2) | 2. Southwest Baptist | 14 (2) |
| 2. Lewis | 11 | 3. Lindenwood | 10 | 3. Missouri S&T | 8 |
| 4. Indianapolis | 8 | 4. Quincy | 6 | 4. William Jewell | 7 |
| 5. McKendree | 7 | 5. Maryville | 5 | 5. Rockhurst | 6 |
NABC DIVISION II MEN’S BASKETBALL PRESEASON TOP 25 POLL
1. Northwest Missouri State
2. Flagler (Fla.)
3. West Texas A&M
4. Colorado Mesa
5. Colorado School of Mines
6. Truman State (Mo.)
7. Hillsdale (Mich.)
8. St. Thomas Aquinas (N.Y.)
9. Lubbock Christian (Texas)
10. Valdosta State (Ga.)
11. Washburn (Kan.)
12. Mercyhurst (Pa.)
13. Nova Southeastern (Fla.)
14. West Liberty (W.Va.)
15. Northern State (S.D.)
16. Queens (N.C.)
17. Lincoln Memorial (Tenn.)
18. Indiana (Pa.)
19. DBU (Texas)
20. Alabama Huntsville
21. Seattle Pacific (Wash.)
22. Fairmont State (W.Va.)
23. Florida Southern
24. Point Loma (Calif.)
25. Charleston (W.Va.)
First place votes – Northwest Missouri State (15), Colorado Mesa (1).
Others receiving votes: MSU Moorhead (Minn.) 47, Southern Indiana 46, Oklahoma Baptist 45, Saint Anselm (N.H.) 43, Findlay (Ohio) 40, Lee (Tenn.) 35, Carson-Newman (Tenn.) 35, Belmont Abbey (N.C.) 28, Fayetteville State (N.C.) 26, Chico State (Calif.) 24, Cal Poly Pomona 21, Daemen (N.Y.) 19, Emmanuel (Ga.) 19, Saint Leo (Fla.) 17, Augusta (Ga.) 15, Jefferson (Pa.) 13, Angelo State (Texas) 12, Southern Arkansas 12, Stonehill (Mass.) 12, Morehouse (Ga.) 10, Hawai’i Hilo 9, Wayne State (Neb.) 9, Missouri-St. Louis 8, St. Edward’s (Texas) 8, Ashland (Ohio) 7, Grand Valley State (Mich.) 7, Georgia Southwestern 6, Missouri Western 6, Adelphi (N.Y.) 5, Arkansas Monticello 5, Augustana (S.D.) 5, Texas A&M-Kingsville 5, Cal State San Bernardino 4, West Georgia 4, Barry (Fla.) 1, Miles (Ala.) 1.
