BURNSVILLE, Minn. – The Augustana men's basketball team was tabbed to finish fifth in the 2023-24 NSIC Men's Basketball Preseason Coaches' Poll announced Thursday. In the same release, Isaac Fink was named the Vikings' Player to Watch after an all-conference career that will conclude this season.
 
Minnesota Duluth was nearly the unanimous preseason favorite with 13 first place votes and 195 points. Minnesota State earned a pair of first place votes and 177 points. Northern State and MSU Moorhead were picked third and fourth with AU fifth.
 
"We have an excellent mix of young and old with seasoned senior veterans Jadan Graves, Bennett Otto and Isaac Fink on the perimeter, junior Akoi Akoi at the four and a bunch of freshmen and sophomores battling for spots as well," Augustana head coach Tom Billeter said. "We had a great fall of conditioning and have extremely good team chemistry. My staff and I are anxious and excited for the upcoming season."
 
The aforementioned Fink is coming off a First Team All-NSIC performance last season that saw him lead AU with 14.1 points and 7.7 rebounds per game. He recorded 20 or more points in seven contests and was nearly automatic at the charity stripe making 88.4 of his shots from the line.
 
"Isaac has previously been a second and first team All-NSIC honoree," Billeter said. "He has scored over 1,000 points in his Augustana career and is fully recovered from last year's knee surgery. As a leader, he has had a great summer and fall of preparation."
 
In all, Augustana returns seven student-athletes from last year's team and welcomes redshirt freshman Hayden Brown into the fold. In addition, Billeter brought in a recruiting class of five freshmen.
 
The Vikings tip-off 2023-24 at the Tip-Off Classic hosted by Missouri Western in St. Joseph, Missouri, Nov. 10-11. AU faces the hosts on opening night and follows with an in-region contest with Southeastern Oklahoma State on Nov. 11. The home debut of Augustana is slated for Nov. 21 as Augustana plays host to Sioux Falls in the Elmen Center in what doubles as the NSIC Opener.
 
Season tickets are available at GoAugie.com/Tickets and can be purchased for as low as $85 with an A-Club membership or $169 without.
 
Full Preseason Poll

1. Minnesota Duluth (13), 195
2. Minnesota State (2), 177
3. Northern State, 160
4. MSU Moorhead, 154
5. Augustana, 135
6. Bemidji State, 125
7. Southwest Minnesota State, 117
8. Sioux Falls, 107
9. Minot State, 84
10. Winona State, 80
11. Wayne State, 74
12. Concordia-St. Paul, 73
13. UMary, 50
14. St. Cloud State, 27
15. Minnesota Crookston, 17