(October 27) --Nova Southeastern has reached the NCAA Division II Elite Eight in each of the last six seasons and despite not repeating as national champions, finds itself at the top of the NABC/Division II pre-season rankings for the second year in a row. The Sharks were among three teams that received first place votes in the pre-season poll and received seven of the 16 votes, while the other two that got top billing are among the top three.  Washburn got three first place votes and landed in second in the poll while last year’s national champion, Gannon, got the other six first place votes and placed third in the poll.

Eight of the teams in the pre-season top 25 will face another ranked team to open its season, with most of those matchups taking place in the second weekend of play at the Small College Basketball Hall of Fame Classic in Lakeland, Fla.  The first matchups take place starting on Oct. 30 at events taking place in Wisconsin Dells, Wis., Ellensburg, Wash., and Honolulu, with the bulk of the Division II teams getting their seasons started on Monday, Nov. 9.