Sunshine State Conference

Nova Southeastern Takes the #1 Ranking in SSC Men’s Basketball Preseason Poll

10.23.24

By: Phill Wood | SSC

MELBOURNE, Fla. - Sunshine State Conference men's basketball coaches vote Nova Southeastern as the preseason favorites for 2023-24. The Sharks are hunting a fourth regular season championship in a row. NSU racked up 98 points in the poll, including eight first-place votes.
 

Florida Southern was picked second in the conference with 93 points and acquired the remaining three first-place votes. Embry-Riddle and Palm Beach Atlantic finished third and fourth in the ranking with 74 and 70 points, respectively. Barry rounds out the Top-5 with 68 points from league coaches, while Tampa settles in the middle of the poll with 51 points. Rollins (40 points) and Florida Tech (38 points) land in seventh and eighth place and are followed in the voting by Lynn (33 points), Eckerd (26 points), and Saint Leo (14 points).
 

2024-25 SSC MEN’S BASKETBALL SCHEDULE
 

NSU finished as the national runner-up last season after winning the NCAA Division II title in 2022-23. The Sharks are the defending South Region, SSC postseason, and SSC regular-season champion, and they have just two conference losses in the last two seasons. In 2022-23, NSU became the sixth team in NCAA Division II history to finish the season as undefeated National Champions.

 

Last year's postseason tournament run for the Sharks brought the league a 13th Final Four and 23rd Elite Eight appearance. During the postseason, they defeated SSC foes Embry-Riddle in the Regional Semifinals and Florida Southern in the Regional Final.

 

The 2024-25 season begins with Florida Southern once again hosting nine schools, including NSU, in Lakeland for the Small College Basketball Hall of Fame Classic on Saturday, November 8th, and Sunday, November 3rd. The remaining league teams get started Friday, November 8th, or Saturday, November 9th. Conference play begins on Wednesday, November 13th, with Florida Southern hosting Eckerd and runs through Saturday, March 1st.

 

Below are the full results of the 2024-25 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).

 

2024-25 SSC MEN’S BASKETBALL PRESEASON COACHES POLL

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See Also: SSC All-Americans | All-SSC Teams | SSC Champions | National Champions | Record Book

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