The Missouri Western men’s basketball team was tabbed 12th in the MIAA preseason coaches poll and 13th in the media poll which was announced today, Tuesday, October 23, 2012 by the league office.

Missouri Western received 65 points in the coaches poll trailing Washburn with 188, Central Missouri with 180, Northwest Missouri State with 170, Fort Hays State and Pittsburg State with 137, Missouri Southern 131, Central Oklhoma 119, Lindenwod 107, Southwest Baptist 89, Emporia State 73, and Nebraska-Kearney with 70. The Ichabods received 11 first place votes while Central Missouri had three and Northwest Missouri State collected one. Truman, Northeastern State and Lincoln rounded out the poll with 54, 39 and 16 total points.

In the media poll, the Griffons were picked 13th with 74 points. Washburn came in first with 267 points and 17 first place votes while Central Missouri was second with 243 points. Northwest Missouri State came in third with 236 points while Missouri Southern had 204 points and one first place vote. Pittsburg State was fifth with 173, Fort Hays State and Lindenwood tied for 6th with 171, Southwest Baptist had 146 coming in 8th, Central Oklahoma came in 9th with 132 points, Emporia State, Nebraska-Kearney and Truman came in 10th, 11th and 12th with 96, 94 and 89 points respectively. Northeastern State and Lincoln rounded out the poll with 74 and 43 points respectively.

Missouri Western is coming off a 9-17 season and went 4-16 in MIAA play. The Griffons return seven letterman and two starters from a season ago.

The Griffons will open up their season with an exhibition contest against Division I opponent Missouri State University on Tuesday, October 30 in Springfield, Mo. Game time is set for 7:00 pm. The Griffons will open up regular season play on Tuesday, November 13 when they host Sterling College (Kan.) at 7:00 pm in the MWSU Fieldhouse.

2012-13 MIAA Preseason Coaches Poll
1.  Washburn (11)                   188
2.  Central Missouri (3)          180
3.  Northwest Missouri (1)     170
T4. Fort Hays State                 137
T4. Pittsburg State                  137
6.  Missouri Southern            131
7.  Central Oklahoma            119
8.  Lindenwood                      107
9.  Southwest Baptist             89
10. Emporia State                   73
11. Nebraska-Kearney           70
12. Missouri Western           65
13. Truman                              54
14. Northeastern State          39
15. Lincoln                               16

2012-13 MIAA Preseason Media Poll
1.  Washburn (17)                 267
2.  Central Missouri              243
3.  Northwest Missouri         236
4.  Missouri Southern (1)     204
5.  Pittsburg State                 173
T6. Fort Hays State              171
T6. Lindenwood                   171
8.  Southwest Baptist          146
9.  Central Oklahoma         132
10. Emporia State                 96
11. Nebraska-Kearney         94
12. Truman                             89
13. Missouri Western         74
14. Northeastern State        43
15. Lincoln                             21

— MWSU Sports Information —