MELBOURNE, Fla. – With the official start of the 2021-22 campaign a little over two weeks away, head coach
Jim Crutchfield and the Nova Southeastern men's basketball program have been projected as the favorite in the Sunshine State Conference after the Sharks earned the top spot in Wednesday's release of the SSC Preseason Coaches' Poll.
The Sharks were one of five teams to collect first-place votes, garnering five of a possible 11. In all, NSU tallied 95 points in the voting process, seven more than Saint Leo, who captured 88 points and three of the remaining first-place tallies. Embry-Riddle, Florida Southern and Lynn rounded out the Top-5 in the rankings, with each school awarded one first-place vote apiece.
The COVID-19 pandemic spurned the Sharks from competition in 2020-21. Still, following an Elite Eight run in 2019 and another NCAA Tournament berth in 2020, Crutchfield and company enter this year at No. 6 in NCAA.com's DII Men's Basketball Power 10 Rankings and No. 13 in the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) poll.
As the first of four straight home games to open the regular season, the Sharks will face off against Florida National on Sat., Nov. 13 at 4 p.m.
To stay up-to-date with the Sharks throughout the season, follow them on Instagram and Twitter at @NSU_MBasketball.
Below are the full results of the 2021-22 SSC Preseason Coaches' Poll. Coaches are not allowed to vote for their teams (points: 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1, first-place votes in parentheses).
| Rank |
School |
Total |
| 1 |
Nova Southeastern |
95 (5) |
| 2 |
Saint Leo |
88 (3) |
| 3 |
Embry-Riddle |
78 (1) |
| 4 |
Florida Southern |
71 (1) |
| 5 |
Lynn |
65 (1) |
| 6 |
Barry |
62 |
| 7 |
Tampa |
40 |
| 8 |
Rollins |
39 |
| 9 |
Palm Beach Atlantic |
27 |
| 10 |
Florida Tech |
24 |
| 11 |
Eckerd |
16 |
