Titans Ranked 17th In D3hoops.com Preseason Basketball Poll
The UW-Oshkosh men's basketball team will enter the 2021-22 season ranked 17th in the NCAA Division III by D3hoops.com.
UW-Oshkosh produced a 5-2 record last season against Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference rivals exclusively due to the novel coronavirus pandemic that canceled the 2021 Division III Championship.
The Titans, who concluded the 2021 campaign ranked 12th in the country by D3hoops.com, are seeking their sixth consecutive trip to the NCAA postseason in 2022 after reaching the national championship game in 2018, winning the program's first Division III title in 2019 and advancing to the second round in 2020.
Randolph-Macon College (Va.), which produced a 12-0 record during the abbreviated 2021 campaign, tops the D3hoops.com preseason poll. Rounding out the top five teams in the poll are Yeshiva University (N.Y.) (7-0 in 2021) in second, Marietta College (Ohio) (12-1) third, Illinois Wesleyan University (8-1) fourth and UW-Platteville (8-2) fifth.
Wheaton College (Ill.) (12-1) is sixth in the preseason poll, followed by Trine University (Ind.) (17-1) in seventh, Swarthmore College (Pa.) (0-0) in eighth, University of St. Joseph (Conn.) (2-2) in ninth and Elmhurst University (Ill.) (7-3) 10th.
UW-Oshkosh is scheduled to play four regular season games against ranked conference foes, beginning Dec. 4 at 15th-ranked UW-La Crosse (8-3). The Titans, who host UW-La Crosse on Feb. 12, will also travel to UW-Platteville on Jan. 19 and welcome the fourth-ranked Pioneers to Kolf Sports Center on Feb. 2.
The Titans open the season at home against Augustana College (Ill.) on Nov. 6.
UW-Oshkosh fourth-year head coach Matt Lewis brings back all five starters from last year's squad that led the WIAC by scoring 80.3 points per game. The Titans also paced the league in 3-point percentage (.418) and made 3-pointers (10.6) and assists (13.7) per contest.
All eight Titans who scored better than one point per game last season return for the 2022 season, including 2021 D3hoops.com Third Team All-American Levi Borchert, who averaged 14.4 points, 10.3 rebounds and 2.7 assists a contest a year ago while shooting a WIAC best 66.7% from the field.
UW-Oshkosh also returns starters Eddie Muench, Hunter Plamann, Will Mahoney and Eric Peterson along with key reserves Quinn Steckbauer and Cole Booth. Muench led the team at 18.9 points per game while Plamann added 15.6 per contest, Mahoney 13.3, Peterson 8.6, Steckbauer 4.9 and Booth 2.0.
Joining Borchert on last year's All-WIAC First Team were Muench and Plamann. Mahoney collected All-WIAC Honorable Mention accolades in 2021 and Peterson was selected to the WIAC All-Defensive Team.
The Titans' string of five straight appearances in the Division III Championship is the longest active streak in the WIAC and the fourth longest in league history.