The Small College Basketball Hall of Fame Classic tips off on Nov. 1 and with it, the DII men’s basketball season officially begins. Minnesota State looks to defend its title while Nova Southeastern looks to make a third-straight trip to the championship game.
Will it happen? Your guess is as good as mine. But is sure is fun to try and figure it out.
DII MEN’S BASKETBALL CENTRAL
Wayne Cavadi’s 5 predictions for DII men’s basketball season
Marcus Tomashek leads DII in scoring. Tomashek had a year to remember in 2023-24. After averaging 11.8 points per game as a freshman in 2022-23, Michigan Tech’s 6-foot-6 guard erupted, scoring 22.9 points per game. He led the GLIAC in scoring and finished sixth overall in DII.
So, why am I picking him to lead all of DII in 2024-25? It wasn’t simply the points that improved last year, he went from shooting 37.7% from the floor to a much improved 45.6% shooting last year. He’s hit at least 71 3-pointers in each of his first two seasons and shot a very impressive .413 from behind the arc last year, finishing No. 31 in DII in the category. The Huskies were 11-18 last year but found themselves in some real dogfights. Tomashek should have the green light often to fire away and light up the box scores.
Nova Southeastern is back in the championship, again. The Sharks fell four points short of being repeat national champions last season. It also feels like head coach Jim Crutchfield has seen just about every DII Men’s Elite Eight since the dawn of time. Of course, I speak in hyperbole, but Coach just finds his way to the final eight on a pretty regular basis.
So, this isn’t all that bold a prediction. The Sharks start the season in the Small College Basketball Hall of Fame Classic, and the last time they did that, they went undefeated and won it all. While the Sharks lost some firepower, they return plenty like MJ Iraldi, Ryker Cisarik, Ryan Davis and Ryan Walsh. Perhaps the biggest “returner” is Dallas Graziani, who returns to Fort Lauderdale, Florida after a year away. Graziani was a fire starter for the undefeated national champions and brings winning experience and excellent court vision back to the Sharks’ rotation.
The winner of the MIAA is — wide open? It is certainly the end of an era in Marysville as Ben McCollum is no longer the head coach at Northwest Missouri State ending one of, if not THE, most historic runs in DII history. But that’s not all; along with McCollum, the Bearcats lose their top five scorers from last year, and will certainly be searching for a new identity for the first time in a long time.
The last time Northwest Missouri State wasn’t atop the MIAA standings was 2012-13. So, if there is a changing of the guard, who will it be? My early pick would be Washburn. The Ichabods return five players who made a significant amount of starts as well as their top three scorers and rebounders. That’s a lot of experience to overlook. Fort Hays State and Pittsburg State are coming off nice seasons but are also replacing a lot of key pieces to the puzzle. If you want a real deep pick, I’m curious to see what Emporia State does. New head coach Tom Billeter is a proven winner at Augustana (SD), brings a few of his younger players along with him, and despite switching conferences, knows how to recruit in that tough Central Region as well.
Minnesota State and Florida Southern should be the best game at the Small College Basketball Hall of Fame Classic. Well, obviously, everyone wants to see what the Mavericks do for an encore. Making their first Small College Basketball Hall of Fame Classic appearance, they draw the tournament’s host school, which also may be one of the really sneaky good teams in DII this season.
The Mavericks lose a ton of talent from last year’s championship team but do return Kyreese Willingham and Justin Eagins from the starting rotation as well as a few key reserves. The Mocs lost Jadin Booth to injury for the season in this very tournament last year, but if he is back healthy, they have what could be a dominant one-two punch with him and Alex Steen in the paint. Throw in Dominick Denny and Erickson Bans, both of whom averaged more than 10 points per game last year, and the Mocs are just about as good a test as the defending champs can get to open the season.
Don’t be surprised to see these teams in the DII Men’s Elite Eight in 2025. Lake Superior State was ever so close last year. Four of the five starters return from that team, including the Lakers’ top three scorers, their leading rebounder and reigning GLIAC defensive player of the year Kingsley Perkins. It was a historic season for Post last year, not only making its first DII men’s basketball championship appearance but winning its first-ever NCAA tournament game before exiting the bracket in a very close game. Their three top scorers are back and the East Region is always wide open, so I expect big things from Post. I’m interested in seeing what Cal (PA) can do in the Atlantic. Gannon is really good, but head coach Jordan Fee — who orchestrated the unreal turnaround last year — is gone. The turnover in DII men’s basketball is so big this season, that any team with experience has a huge upper hand. And that’s the case for the Vulcans, who return two starters in Byron Lucas and Donald Whitehead Jr., as well as two key reserves in Keith Palek III and Antoine Arnett.
