ST. PAUL, Minn.---The last time the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) saw a men’s basketball team take the court for conference action was when Bethany Lutheran College defeated the College of St. Scholastica in the 2019-20 tournament championship on Feb. 29, 2020. Not much has happened for UMAC student-athletes on the court since then due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
However, just a short 11 months later, the UMAC gets back into action for a shortened, unique and unforgettable conference season when teams tip off an eight-game regular season schedule Saturday, Jan. 30, before all nine teams compete in the conference tournament set for March 1-6.
With hope on the horizon for a successful season, the University of Northwestern was selected as the favorite for the 2020-21 season by the conference coaches with 60 points and five first-place votes in the UMAC Preseason Coaches’ Poll released Monday.
Northwestern finished the 2019-20 season with an impressive 15-1 conference record to capture the regular season title before falling to St. Scholastica in the semifinal round of the UMAC tournament. The Eagles enter the season without a lot of big names from a year ago, but will be led by some key contributors in Noah Alm and Kyle Kaemingk. Alm was a Second Team All-UMAC pick a year ago averaging 17.8 points per game (ppg), while Kaemingk added 10.9 ppg.
The Eagles will certainly be challenged by the next three teams in the queue, though. The College of St. Scholastica was a close second with 57 total points and three first-place votes, while Bethany Lutheran College was third with 51 points including a first-place nod. The University of Wisconsin-Superior will likely challenge those three coming in fourth with 42 points.
St. Scholastica finally found a way to defeat rival Northwestern in the postseason tournament upsetting the Eagles as the No. 4 seed in the semifinal round. The Saints will bring back the junior Honorable Mention duo of Nick Carlson and Jack Silgen who each tallied over 12 ppg last year. Additionally, Jarod Wilken is back for his final season after putting up 12.4 ppg in 2019-20 to help the Saints challenge for their first title since 2015-16.
Bethany Lutheran was second a year ago, but found itself in the NCAA tournament for the second time in three seasons following an impressive run to the UMAC tourney title. The Vikings will be without star point guard Cire Mayfield this season, but will still see solid contributions from Second Team All-UMAC senior Jared Milinkovich and Honorable Mention Brian Smith with both players scoring over 12 ppg a year ago.
Wisconsin-Superior made a big leap to third in the conference last season finishing 13-3 in league play. Despite losing several top players to graduation, the Yellowjackets welcome back sophomore Mason Ackley who earned Honorable Mention honors as a rookie scoring 10.9 ppg. The ‘Jackets also bring in new talent to add to a core group of sophomores expected to contribute.
The traditional “top-five” could be rounded out by any one of three teams per opinion of the coaches as the University of Minnesota Morris was fifth with 30 points, while Crown College and North Central University tied for sixth with 29 points each.
Minnesota Morris missed out on the postseason tournament last season after a long run of consecutive appearances. The Cougars will look to push for a top five finish returning an experienced trio in Dillon Haider, James Pendleton and Kenneth Riley who each scored in double figures last season
Crown will look to remain in the top-five but will need to do it without back-to-back UMAC Player of the Year Tim Wendel. The Storm will rely on senior guard Christian Moore who tallied 10.8 ppg and 6.4 rebounds per game (rpg) last season.
North Central will look for continued improvement under second year coach Dan DeWitt. The Rams’ squad will be led by junior Micah Filer who averaged 15.5 ppg for an Honorable Mention season as a sophomore.
Northland College and Martin Luther College round out the standings in eighth (18) and ninth (8), respectively. The LumberJacks return over half of their scoring from a year ago and expect senior Harley Shear to help lead the team to improvement. Martin Luther also will look for improvement despite losing four seniors starters. Jack Heichelbach should help anchor the squad.
Several UMAC teams have scheduled non-conference competition that continues this week, but league play begins thisSaturday, Jan. 30. At the time of publication, the NCAA Division III Championship is on as scheduled, meaning the winner of the UMAC tournament in March would earn the conference’s automatic bid to the national tournament.
2021 UMAC Men's Basketball Preseason Coaches' Poll
| Pl. | School | Pts. |
| 1. | Northwestern | 60 (5) |
| 2. | St. Scholastica | 57 (3) |
| 3. | Bethany Lutheran | 51 (1) |
| 4. | Wisconsin-Superior | 42 |
| 5. | Minnesota Morris | 30 |
| T6. | Crown | 29 |
| T6. | North Central | 29 |
| 8. | Northland | 18 |
| 9. | Martin Luther | 8 |