Aurora University men's basketball has been picked to finish fifth in the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference men's basketball championship according to the preseason poll, voted on by the league's head coaches and sports information directors.

The Spartans finished eighth in the final 2022-2023 NACC standings with a 7-10 conference record and went 12-12 overall in the first season under the direction of Head Coach Steve Christiansen.

AU was picked fifth behind Wisconsin Lutheran College who was selected to repeat as NACC champions with 323 points and 12 first-place votes. St. Norbert College was a close second with 320 points and 13 first-place votes. Benedictine University was third and Concordia University Chicago was fourth ahead of the Spartans.

Marian University, Rockford University and Illinois Institute of Technology round out the teams picked to make the eight team NACC tournament.

The remainder of the poll has Lakeland University followed by Concordia University Wisconsin, Milwaukee School of Engineering, Edgewood College and Dominican University.

The top eight teams in the final standings qualify for the 2024 NACC Men's Basketball Tournament. Quarterfinal play is slated for Tuesday, Feb. 20, followed by semifinals on Thursday, Feb. 22, and the final on Saturday, Feb. 24. The tournament champion receives the NACC's automatic berth in the 2024 NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Championship.

The 2023-2024 Spartan men's basketball team kicks off the season on Wednesday, November 8 when they host Eureka College at 7:00 p.m. in Thornton Gymnasium.

2023-2024 NACC Men's Basketball Preseason Poll