INDIANAPOLIS – By just one point, the favorite in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference Men’s Basketball Preseason Coaches Poll presented by Under Armour was closely determined following Thursday’s announcement leading up to the 2020-21 campaign.
 
Findlay is the league’s preseason choice following the annual voting by the coaches in preparation for the conference-only schedule slated to tip on December 3.
 
The Oilers, coached by Charlie Ernst, were one of four schools to receive at least one first-place vote in the balloting. Findlay’s 90 points barely edged preseason runner-up Cedarville, which matched the Oilers’ three first-place votes and tallied a total of 89 points.
 
Findlay’s hunt for an elusive conference tournament trophy remains in effect. The Oilers have had a share of the regular season crown, either outright or shared, in all three seasons in the Great Midwest while going 52-6 (.897) in conference games.
 
UF senior floor general Tommy Schmock is the Great Midwest career assists leader, both total (505) and per-game average (5.32). He also moved past a group of conference greats in the steals department and his 189 thefts since 2017 is also the active career record. Forward Nathan Bruns averaged over 11 points on nearly 62 percent shooting as a freshman while double-digit scorers Ethan Linder and Anthony Masterlasco, deserve plenty of credit for the program’s sustained success.
 
Under head coach Pat Estepp, the Yellow Jackets are loaded with returning all-conference caliber talent as a legitimate title contender. Junior guard Branden Maughmer is top 20 among all players in conference history in scoring, assists and steals. Senior forward Conner TenHove is 13th in career conference scoring. Junior big man Kollin Van Horn is fourth in career field goal percentage.
 
Right in the mix is co-regular season champion Hillsdale as the Chargers actually led all schools with a total of four first-place votes and settled with 87 points. Hillsdale carried the No. 1 seed into last year’s conference tournament and equaled Findlay’s 15-3 record in Great Midwest play.
 
The Chargers were the league’s top defensive unit a year ago and Great Midwest Freshman of the Year Patrick Cartier was the league leader in field goal percentage and top 10 in scoring (16.1 ppg). Seniors Davis Larson (13 ppg) and Austen Yarian (11 ppg) also carry returning all-conference pedigree as second-team selections.
 
Reigning conference tournament champion Walsh also received one first-place vote. Despite going back-to-back as championship winners, the Cavaliers were polled fourth with 78 points after starting their eventual title run in 2019-20 as the preseason favorite.
 
Walsh was poised to represent the league in the NCAA Championship Midwest Regional before the tournament was canceled due to COVID-19.  Senior guard Darryl Straughter helped the Cavaliers set a team single-season conference record in three-pointers made and individually, he tied Findlay’s Martyce Kimbrough for the conference record with 104 triples made.  
 
Straughter is ranked eighth all-time in career scoring in Great Midwest history with 1,338 points and could climb rapidly with the graduations of Gabe Kynard (Lake Erie) and international pro Hasan Varence (Ohio Dominican), who currently are ahead of him. He also is the conference record holder in three-pointers made with 251.
 
Findlay (24) and Walsh (1) are also in the receiving votes category following the NABC’s Top-25 Preseason Poll that came out this week.
 
Rounding out the top five was Kentucky Wesleyan, which emerged as a surprise Great Midwest Championship finalist as the No. 8 seed. The Panthers received 66 points and remain the league’s all-time winningest program with 137 wins and 71 conference victories. Different players stepped up in big moments during the team’s extended postseason run, including upperclassmen returners Wyatt Battaile and Zach Hopewell.
 
Malone emerged as a final four participant in last year’s conference tournament after beating Cedarville in the opening round. The Pioneers were polled sixth and are speared by the all-conference tandem of Jaret Majestic and Marcus Ernst, who combined to average over 30 points per contest.  
 
Kynard’s season for Lake Erie was memorable as he finished out his senior season as the Great Midwest scoring king in 2019-20. His 18.01 points per game since 2017 when LEC first joined the Great Midwest is ranked third all-time and he was an all-region performer by multiple outlets while being named the Male Scholar-Athlete of the Year by the league’s administrators.
 
Lake Erie was picked to finish seventh with 41 points. Ohio Dominican, entering the second year under head coach Kelly Winter, will have the tough task of replacing the all-conference production of Varence and Sam Hickey.
 
Trevecca Nazarene, Tiffin and Ohio Valley, in order, respectively, will look to exceed their preseason predictions and qualify for the postseason tournament field.
 
The departure of Alderson Broaddus to the Mountain East Conference is effective this season following seven years in the sport standings. Incoming 2021-22 member Ashland will add another level of intrigue to the conference’s overall strength in the Midwest Region while fighting for at-large tournament bids with the GLVC and GLIAC.
 
Eight teams will qualify for the Great Midwest Championship Tournament that will be held March 2; 5-6, 2021. The quarterfinal rounds will be held at the top four seeds, with the semifinals and finals being held by the top remaining seed.
 
Any additional updates on the playing season, conference tournament and NCAA Championship news, will be posted on GreatMidwestSports.com when available. The conference season preview will be released during the Thanksgiving layover about one week prior to the start of the Dec. 3 start date.

Great Midwest Men's Basketball Preseason Coaches Poll presented by Under Armour
 

School	Points
1. Findlay (3 first-place votes)	90
2. Cedarville (3 first-place votes)	89
3. Hillsdale (4 first-place votes)	87
4. Walsh (1 first-place vote)	78
5. Kentucky Wesleyan	66
6. Malone	54
7. Lake Erie	41
8. Ohio Dominican	33
9. Trevecca Nazarene	29
10. Tiffin	25
11. Ohio Valley	13