Click here for 2015-16 GLIAC Preseason Coaches Poll
BAY CITY - The Saginaw Valley State University men's basketball team has been chosen to win the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) North Division in preseason balloting by the league's head coaches.
The Cardinals received 108 points and 13 of the possible 16 first place votes to finish in the top spot, 11 points ahead of Ferris State. Lake Superior State notched 72 points with a single first place vote to finish in third while Grand Valley State was fourth with 57 points. Hillsdale is lited in the fifth slot with 56 points, including a pair of first place nods.
Ashland University was picked to claim the GLIAC South Division title with 103 points and eight first place votes. Findlay was just a point behind with 102 points and five first place votes. Walsh rounded-out the top three with 99 points and three first place nods.
Along with the team polls, the coaches also chose the preseason All-GLIAC teams. SVSU juniors C.J. Turnage and Garrett Hall are listed on those teams as well. Turnage was named to the preseason North Division First Team as a forward and Hall earned Second Team honors as a guard. The two were named to those same respective teams following play last year as well as senior guard Kellen Smith, who was named to the 2014-15 GLIAC All-Defensive Team.
#1 GLIAC NORTH - MEN'S BASKETBALL PRESEASON COACHES POLL
SAGINAW VALLEY STATE CARDINALS (21-9 ALL, 16-6 GLIAC)
2015-16 Saginaw Valley State Men's Basketball Preview
The SVSU men's basketball team looks to continue the success from a 2014-15 season that was the most successful since the program joined the ranks of the NCAA Division II level. SVSU posted a 21-9 overall record and a 16-6 mark in the GLIAC. The 16 league victories were a new program record for the team and the men defeated the Findlay Oilers in the GLIAC Tournament for their first berth in the conference semifinals since the 1996-97 season.
Head coach Randy Baruth returns for his fourth season on the Cardinal bench, as he carries a 42-39 overall record into this season. Leading the way on the court for SVSU will be returning All-GLIAC First Team performer C.J. Turnage, who led the team with 14.1 ppg and 5.9 rpg. Second Team All-GLIAC honorees Garrett Hall (13.8 ppg) and Damon Bozeman (12.4 ppg) also return for SVSU, as does starting point guard Kellen Smith, who earned All-GLIAC Defensive Team honors set a new program record with 177 assists. Wade Gelhaus and Devin Dixon will add depth for the Cardinals inside while Mitch Baenziger and Caleb Davis provide a strong threat from beyond the arc for SVSU. Vincent Adams and Sterling Johnson provide the Cardinals with solid depth and defense at the guard position off the bench and newcomer Mike Wells, a transfer from Albany, will look to provide quality production to a very deep backcourt for SVSU as well.
Saginaw Valley opens the 2015-16 season with an exhibition game at the University of Dayton on Saturday, November 7th before traveling to Bellarmine for the annual GLIAC/GLVC Challenge November 14-15, where it will play St. Joseph's and 2015 Final Four participant Bellarmine.
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