The UW-Parkside men’s basketball team was predicted to finish fourth in the five-team Great Lakes Valley Conference North Division, according to the league’s preseason coaches poll released on Tuesday.

With the league expanding to 15 teams this season, the GLVC is now divided into three divisions (East, North, West).

The Rangers received 23 points in the North. Quincy led the North with nine first-place votes and 59 points, followed by Lewis (54) and Saint Joseph’s (45). Illinois-Springfield was pegged fifth with 19.

Other divisional favorites include Rockhurst with 65 in the West and Bellarmine with 64 in the East.

Parkside plays its divisional opponents twice and takes on each non-divisional foe once for a total of 18 games. The top-three teams from each division and three wild cards advance to the GLVC Tournament. The tournament will be held over two weekends with the semifinals and finals held at the TRAC on the campus of Illinois-Springfield March 6-7.

Parkside returns just four players from last year’s team which finished 7-20 overall and 3-15 in the GLVC last season.

The GLVC, as usual, is expected to be one of the toughest NCAA Division-2 conferences in the country.

Bellarmine is ranked first in the Sporting News preseason poll and fifth in the Division-2 Bulletin preseason poll. The Knights went 12-5 in the GLVC (26-7 overall) and advanced to the final of the Midwest Regional.

Rockhurst, coming off of a 13-4 mark in the GLVC (19-11 overall), returns the GLVC Player of the Year and Preseason All-American Aaron Hill. Quincy finished 8-9 in the GLVC (16-12 overall) last season.

The Rangers open their season in hosting Concordia on Nov. 15. Parkside begins GLVC play on Dec. 3 against visiting Rockhurst.

Compiled by Jeffrey Zampanti