BURNSVILLE, Minn. – The Augustana men's basketball team has been tabbed as the NSIC South Division preseason favorite by opposing coaches the league announced Thursday. The Vikings garnered four first place votes and tallied 46 points in the poll. In the same release, senior Tyler Riemersma has been tabbed as the Vikings' Preseason Player to Watch.
 
The Vikings, currently ranked No. 13 in the nation by the NABC, return their entire starting lineup from last year's squad, and 88 percent of their scoring output.
 
Despite an injury-plagued 2019-20 season, the Vikings closed the season with a 6-1 record and will look to carry that momentum into 2021.
 
"There is excellent chemistry on our team, with the most upper-class players we have had in three years," Augustana head coach Tom Billeter said. "I like the resiliency they have shown during this pandemic, and I know they are very excited about the upcoming season."
 
Riemersma, a First Team All-NSIC selection, set an NSIC record with 239 rebounds in the 22-game conference schedule last season and averaged a double-double of 12.5 points and 10.4 rebounds per outing. 2018-19 Second Team All-NSIC honoree Matt Cartwright is back after seeing action in just nine games last year due to injury. In those nine contests, he averaged a team-best 13.8 points per outing.
 
Along with Riemersma and Cartwright, Augustana also returns double-figure scorers in Matt Todd (12.5) and Dylan LeBrun (12.1). Among other returners to this year's squad, the Vikings return everyone who scored at least 7.5 points per game including Michael Schaefer (8.7), Adam Dykman (8.6) and Isaac Fink (7.5).
 
Riemersma, a native of Bloomington, Minnesota, is one of five returning first-team selections from 2019-20. He tallied a career-high of 29 points against Northern State last year while securing 23 rebounds against UMary. The 23 rebounds are the second-most in a single game in program history. He concluded the season ranked third in the nation with 4.47 offensive rebounds per game while ranking eighth in the country with 313 total rebounds.
 
The Vikings open their season Jan. 2 & 3 at MSU Moorhead. The home debut of this year's squad is Jan. 15 & 16 against Concordia-St. Paul.

Complete South Division Poll

1. Augustana (4)	46
2. Sioux Falls (3)	41
3. Winona State (1)	36
4. Minnesota State	31
5. Upper Iowa	30
6. Concordia-St. Paul	15
7. Southwest Minnesota State	14
8. Wayne State	11

Complete North Division Poll

1. Northern State (7)	49
2. MSU Moorhead	43
3. Bemidji State	35
4. Minnesota Duluth	28
St. Cloud State	28
6. UMary	16
7. Minot State	14
8. Minnesota Crookston	11