2016-17 Links: Roster |
Coaches |
Schedule
BLOOMINGTON, Minn. – The 2016-17 Bethel University men's basketball campaign is officially underway and the Royals tipoff the season this weekend in Wheaton, Ill., where they'll face Heidelberg Friday evening at 5:30 p.m. and either Luther or Wheaton on Saturday. BU returns a host of players, including all five starters from the final games of the 2015-16 season. Among those returning are All-MIAC honorees
Trevor Hall,
Bridgeport Tusler, and
Brycen Wojta, in addition to All-First-Year Team member
Derek Magnuson. The Royals were picked to finish second in the MIAC Preseason Coaches' Poll—just one point behind 2016 NCAA Division III National Champion St. Thomas—after earning four first-place and six second-place votes.
2016-17 MIAC Men's Basketball Preseason Coaches' Poll
Coaches voted for every team in the conference except their own team. Points were assigned for each vote (10 for first, nine for second, etc.) Teams are ranked in order of highest point total to lowest with vote totals listed and first-place votes shown in parentheses.
2016-17 MIAC Men's Basketball
Preseason Coaches' Poll
|
| Rank |
Institution |
Total |
| 1. |
St. Thomas (7) |
95 |
| 2. |
Bethel (4) |
94 |
| T3. |
Augsburg |
74 |
| T3. |
Saint John's |
74 |
| 5. |
Carleton |
59 |
| 6. |
St. Olaf |
54 |
| 7. |
Gustavus |
45 |
| 8. |
Macalester |
39 |
| 9. |
Concordia |
33 |
| 10. |
Saint Mary's |
25 |
| 11. |
Hamline |
13 |
2016-17 Bethel University By The Numbers
16
Last year's postseason appearance marked Bethel's 16th trip to the MIAC Playoffs in the last 18 seasons. Only two other teams across the conference have accomplished this feat during that time frame. BU has amassed a 4-3 postseason record under head coach
Doug Novak.
40
The Royals have recorded a 40-13 record in the Robertson Center gym over the last four seasons, which has resulted in a .755 winning percentage during that stretch. Bethel, who finished 11-3 at home during 2015-16, has reached double-digit wins in three of the four years.
22
Bethel finished the 2015-16 campaign ranked No. 22 nationwide and No. 1 across the MIAC in turnover margin. The Royals forced 14.5 turnovers per game, opposed to their average of 10.7, which resulted in a 3.8 turnover margin.
5
BU returns all five starters from the 2015-16 season. The returners have been recognized to the MIAC All-Conference Team five times, MIAC All-Freshman Team three times, and MIAC All-Defensive Team once.
2
Bethel has had two freshmen honored to the MIAC All-Conference Team in head coach
Doug Novak's first three years. Prior to that, the last two freshmen to earn this distinction league-wide was in 2005 and 1996.
3
Three members of the Bethel University men's basketball team have been represented on the USA Division III men's basketball team over the last three years.
Derek Magnuson (2016), Kyle Zimmermann (2015), and
Brycen Wojta (2014) each competed in Brazil for two weeks.
117
The Royals boasted two of the top defenders across the conference last year, as
Bridgeport Tusler and
Trevor Hall finished No. 1 and 2, respectively, in steals and steals per game. Tusler and Hall combined for 117 takeaways during the 2015-16 season.
84
Derek Magnuson hauled down 84 offensive rebounds in his debut season, which ranked No. 1 league-wide. Moreover, Magnuson posted 92 boards on defense for a total of 176 rebounds, which ranke No. 6 across the MIAC in his rookie campaign.
2017 MIAC Men's Basketball Playoffs
The 2017 MIAC Playoffs will feature the top six teams in the conference standings playing in a high-seed-host, single-elimination postseason tournament. This year, the men's and women's Playoffs will flip days, with the men playing Tuesday-Thursday-Saturday, including a much-anticipated 7 p.m. for the Saturday night final.
The two
top seeds will receive a bye to the semifinal round, while the No. 3 seed will host the No. 6 seed, and the
No. 4 seed will host the No. 5 seeds during the quarterfinals, which will be held Tuesday, Feb. 21. The top remaining seed will play at the No. 2 seed and the lowest remaining seed will play at the No. 1 seed
during the semifinals, which are scheduled for Thursday, Feb. 23. The championship game is set forSaturday, Feb. 25, at 7 p.m., with the two semifinal winners meeting on home court of the top remaining seed. The winner will receive the MIAC's automatic bid to the 2016 NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Tournament.
|
2017 MIAC Men's Basketball Playoffs Home Page |
MIAC Men's Basketball Links
|
Website |
Standings |
Schedule |
Statistics |
News |
Athletes-of-the-Week |
Recordbook |
Archives |
Team-by-Team Previews
| AUG | BU | CAR | CON | GAC | HU | MAC | SJU | SMU | STO | UST |
