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Daemen University Athletics

Western New York's Premier Division II Team
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Consensus All-American Andrew Sischo led Daemen to a No. 9 ranking in the final D2SIDA national media poll released this week

Daemen Ranked Ninth In Final D2SIDA Media Poll

4/1/2021 9:45:00 AM

By: CONTACT: Mike Miranto, Sr. Associate Athletics Director for Communications & Operations
AMHERST, N.Y. – With the first Elite Eight appearance of the program's NCAA era in tow, the Daemen College men's basketball team is ranked ninth in the final NCAA Division II Sports Information Directors of America (D2SIDA) national media poll for the 2020-21 season which was released late Wednesday. It marks the first time that the Wildcats have been nationally ranked to finish a season since gaining full NCAA Division II membership in 2015. 

Veteran head coach Mike MacDonald led the Wildcats to their third consecutive NCAA tournament berth and first East Region championship, the latter secured with a 71-70 victory over nationally ranked St. Thomas Aquinas, the region's No. 1 seed, at the Albany Capital Center on March 16. That victory, their second of the season over the highly touted Spartans, pushed the Wildcats into the Elite Eight in Evansville, Indiana where, as the No. 8 seed, they bowed out of the tournament with a 97-83 loss to top-seeded West Texas A&M.

The Wildcats finished the pandemic-shortened 2020-21 season with a 10-6 overall record and a 7-2 mark in East Coast Conference play. It was perhaps the best coaching job to date for MacDonald who has won 70% of games since taking the reins of the program seven seasons ago (139-57 record). The Wildcats were hit hard by graduation, losing four starters - all 1,000-point scorers - from their 2019-20 team that went 24-8 before having their first-round NCAA tournament game cancelled due to the pandemic. After coping with the loss of eight additional players who elected to opt out of the season because of COVID-19 concerns, MacDonald ushered new pieces into the starting lineup, including newcomers Sean Fasoyiro (Houston, Texas) and Andrew Mason (Webster, N.Y.), as well as sophomore Ryan Salzberg (Manlius, N.Y.) who played just 104 minutes as a freshman. After dropping two games against Gannon to open 0-2 for the first time since 2001-02, the Wildcats rattled off 10 wins in their final 14 games. Three of their four remaining losses came against nationally ranked opponents. 

While Fasoyiro (13.9 ppg, 7.1 rpg, team-high 3.9 apg), Mason (12.6 ppg, 49% 3PT), Salzberg (8.6 ppg) and senior guard Kyle Harris (Buffalo, N.Y.) (12.5 ppg) all produced career-high numbers, the Wildcats' catalyst remained 6-foot-9 center Andrew Sischo (Guilderland, N.Y.) who earned consensus All-American honors for the second straight season. Sischo was utterly dominant as he averaged more points (26.9) than any player in team history for a single season, ranking fourth among the Division II national leaders. He also finished second in the national rebounding race, averaging 13.0 caroms per game, and led the country in double-doubles (13) for a second straight season. Along the way, he became the program's all-time leading scorer and just the second 2,000-point/1,000-rebound player in the history of the East Coast Conference. 

All 12 players who finished the season on Daemen's active roster are expected to return next season. That includes the likes of Sischo, Fasoyiro and Harris who have indicated their intentions to exercise an additional year of eligibility granted to winter sport student-athletes by the NCAA because of the COVID-19. 

Daemen has now been ranked in 19 of the last 40 D2SIDA national media polls dating back to January 1, 2019. Northwest Missouri State topped the final poll for 2020-21, grabbing all 16 first-place votes. The Bearcats knocked off West Texas A&M this past weekend to claim their third national title in the last five seasons. 

The D2SIDA national media poll is conducted by sports information professionals from around the country. A second national poll conducted by Division II members of the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) is expected to be released in the near future. 
 
D2SIDA MEN'S BASKETBALL NATIONAL MEDIA POLL - MARCH 31
W-L PTS. PREV.
1. Northwest Missouri State 28-2 400 3
2. West Texas A&M 19-3 381 6
3. Lincoln Memorial 19-4 362 15
4. Flagler 18-3 340 8
5. Northern State 19-2 320 1
6. Truman State 20-3 317 4
7. Colorado School of Mines  18-3 307 9
8. West Liberty 18-5 307 12
9. DAEMEN 10-6 239 RV
10. Hillsdale  21-3 234 7
11. Lubbock Christian  18-3 223 10
12. Alabama Huntsville  15-4 216 13
13. St. Thomas Aquinas  14-2 197 5
14. Colorado Mesa  21-2 161 2
15. Michigan Tech  15-8 134 RV
16. Washburn 20-7 128 17
17. Lee (Tenn.) 15-6 108 23
18. Northwest Nazarene 13-5 95 RV
19. Dallas Baptist  17-5 94 21
20. Charleston (W.Va.)  14-3 90 18
21. Belmont Abbey 18-5 89 14
22. Emmanuel  17-7 85 NR
23. Mercyhurst 12-1 80 20
24. Valdosta State  17-5 61 11
25. Fairmont State 15-5 38 16

( ) denotes first-place votes

Others receiving votes (on more than one ballot): Southern Indiana (34), Biola (33), Point Loma (22), MSU-Moorhead (18), Queens (N.C.) (17), Arkansas-Monticello (13), Tusculum (10), West Georgia (10), Ashland (9), Texas A&M-Kingsville (7), Oklahoma Baptist (6)

DAEMEN IN THE D2SIDA NATIONAL POLL
Preseason - RV
Dec. 17 - NR
Jan. 4 - NR
Jan. 12 - 21
Jan. 19 - 23
Jan. 26 - T-25
Feb. 2 - NR
Feb. 9 - NR
Feb. 16 - NR
Feb. 22 - NR
Mar. 2 - RV
Mar. 9 - RV
Mar. 31 - 9

RV = receiving votes
NR = not ranked

Daemen College features the premier NCAA Division II athletics program in the Buffalo-Niagara region, sponsoring 17 intercollegiate teams. For the latest information on Daemen Athletics, follow the Wildcats via social media on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Instagram, or sign up to receive customizable news alerts, e-mail newsletters and weekly schedule alerts.

Support Daemen College's return to intercollegiate athletic competitions by making a contribution to the Game On Campaign and the Daemen Wildcats Gotta Play Fund. This comprehensive fundraising campaign was established to help offset the loss of valuable external revenue streams that directly support Daemen's 17 varsity programs. To learn more, visit daemenwildcats.com/gameon.
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