Sharks Open at No. 6 in NCAA.com DII Men’s Power 10 Rankings

For the fourth time in as many seasons, head coach Jim Crutchfield and the Nova Southeastern men’s basketball team has earned a preseason nod as one of the nation’s Top-10 programs, as the Sharks opened at No. 6 in the newly released 2021-22 DII Men’s Basketball Power 10 Rankings by NCAA.com.
Prior to Crutchfield’s arrival back in 2017, the program had never crept inside the Top-25 at any point, yet the national attention has since become routine after the Sharks were pegged No. 8 in the preseason by DII Bulletin in 2018-19 prior to their run to the Elite Eight, No. 2 by the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) in 2019-20 on their way to another trip to the NCAA Tournament, and then No. 6 again by the NABC prior to their 2020-21 campaign being cancelled.
In their first bit of competitive action since March of 2020, the Sharks showed plenty of potential, pushing the University of Miami in Wednesday’s preseason opener. Despite shooting just 41.1% from the field and 30.8% from beyond the arc, NSU trailed the Hurricanes by only four with 4:30 to play before eventually falling 106-95. The Sharks forced UM into 18 turnovers in the contest and won the battle of the boards by a 48-41 margin, including 18-2 on the offensive glass.
Defending national champion Northwest Missouri State captured the top spot in the rankings. Flagler followed at No. 2, with West Texas A&M slotted at No. 3. Colorado Mesa and Hillsdale rounded out the Top-5.

Posted 10/26/21