Bethany Lutheran College is the pick to win a second straight title in the preseason poll conducted by men’s basketball coaches in the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference.
Jackson County Central graduate Pat Garvin is in his fourth season as head coach of the Vikings.
BLC won both the regular season and tournament titles in the UMAC last season and Garvin was named the conference’s Coach of the Year.
Bethany returns its top six scorers from last season's team that averaged 90.4 points per game last season, which was sixth in the country among NCAA Division III teams.
BLC had a 23-5 overall record last season and was 12-2 in the UMAC.
Garvin was a student-athlete at Bethany.
The Vikings won the 2011-12 UMAC regular season championship, and qualified for the conference tournament in each of his four years. He continues to rank in the top 10 of five career categories and in two season categories.
He also played golf at BLC.
Prior to becoming head coach at Bethany, Garvin had separate stints as a grad assistant and assistant coach at Minnesota State University; was an assistant coach for two seasons at Benedictine University in Mesa, Ariz.; and was an assistant at Bethany for one season.
BLC opens its season this weekend with two home games, hosting Milwaukee School of Engineering at 7 p.m. Friday and Wisconsin Lutheran at 2 p.m. Saturday.
The conference schedule starts the weekend of Dec. 8-9 with home games vs. North Central and Northwestern.