The North Dakota State men’s basketball team has been picked to finish second in The Summit League this season, according to the annual preseason poll of league head coaches, sports information directors and media.

NDSU’s Rocky Kreuser and Sam Griesel were voted to the preseason All-Summit League first-team, and Tyree Eady claimed a spot on the second team.

South Dakota State topped the preseason poll with 23 of the 36 first-place votes. The Bison came in second, Oral Roberts was third, and South Dakota was fourth.

Kreuser was named to the All-Summit League first team last season after leading NDSU with 15.7 points and 7.0 rebounds per game. He capped the year with a career-high 34 points in the championship game of the Summit League Tournament.

Griesel earned All-Summit League second team honors last year, starting all 27 games for the Bison and leading the team in minutes played. He ranked second on the team with 11.5 points and 6.4 rebounds per contest and led the Bison in assists.

Eady averaged 11.5 points, 5.7 rebounds and 2.3 assists in just under 34 minutes per game last season. He shot 52 percent overall and 39 percent from three-point range.

North Dakota State has earned four NCAA Tournament berths in the past eight seasons. The Bison will open the 2021-22 season with a home exhibition game against Minot State on Nov. 1 inside the Scheels Center.

NDSU women’s basketball slotted third in Summit League Preseason Poll

The North Dakota State women’s basketball team has been picked third in the Summit League preseason poll, announced on Tuesday by the league office.

South Dakota, who won its second straight Summit League title last season, picked up 20 first place votes to take the top spot, while South Dakota State garnered 18 total first place votes to be positioned second. NDSU rounded out the top three picked third. The Bison have been picked inside the top five for the second consecutive season and it also marks highest ranking in the poll since 2009-10 when NDSU was positioned third.

Heaven Hamling earned a spot on the Preseason All-League Second Team after being named the Summit League Newcomer of the Year, selected to the All-Summit League Second Team and All-Newcomer Team last season. The Grand Rapids, Minn., native appeared in all 24 games and tallied double digits in points in 17 games. Hamling also shot 41.9 percent from behind the arc, which ranked 27th in the country.

NDSU will open the season on Nov. 11 at Milwaukee. Tip-off is set for 7:00 p.m