RELEASED:  Thursday, November 1, 2007

UW-Stevens Point Receives Men's Basketball Preseason Nod

Madison, Wis.--Defending conference champion, University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point is the preseason favorite of the league’s sports information directors to win the 2008 Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) men’s basketball title.

UW-Stevens Point received eight first-place votes in this year’s preseason poll.  The Pointers secured their league-leading 24th conference championship trophy and fourth WIAC tournament plaque last season.  The 2006-07 squad was ranked No. 1 in the NCAA Division III for seven weeks and advanced to the sectional semifinals of the NCAA tournament.

UW-Stevens Point has led the NCAA Division III in free throw percentage and fewest turnovers per game the past two years.  The Pointers set a Division III record by shooting 82.3 percent from the free throw line in 2006-07 and established WIAC single-season marks with 309 three-point field goals made and 744 three-pointers attempted.  In the last 10 seasons, UW-Stevens Point has compiled a 116-44 record against WIAC adversaries.

UW-Whitewater received the remaining first-place vote in the conference predictions and is pegged for second in the league ledger.  The Warhawks won the WIAC regular-season and tournament titles during the 2005-06 campaign.   UW-Whitewater has registered 18-plus victories in each of head coach Pat Miller’s six seasons and finished fourth-place or better in the nine-team conference derby 18 of the last 19 years.  The 2007-08 season begins with four of the first six games at home and finishes with three of the final five WIAC contests on the road.

UW-Platteville welcomes six different returners who have started, but none of them are seniors, including sophomore Josh Langenfeld and junior Jeff Skemp, who missed the majority of last season with injuries.   Curt Hanson (196) and Mike Shaw (184) were the highest scoring freshmen in the Pioneer program since Tyler Selk scored 257 in 1999-2000.  Hanson led the WIAC with a .543 three-point field goal percentage (44-81) last year.

UW-Oshkosh has won 17-plus games 10 times in the last 12 years, including a minimum of 10 WIAC contests nine times.  The Titans enter the 2007-08 campaign without a returning All-WIAC first team or honorable mention selection for just the second time in 15 years.  UW-Oshkosh returns just 892 of its 2,017 points scored, 366 of its 907 rebounds collected and 2,431 of its 5,400 minutes played a year ago.  Ted Van Dellen is the longest-tenured head coach in the WIAC.  His 17 seasons have resulted in 299 victories, the sixth-highest total in league history.

UW-La Crosse advanced to the WIAC tournament championship for the first time in school history a year ago, after achieving the best seeding in school history (No. 2).  The Eagles’ 12 wins against WIAC opponents in 2006-07 were the most since finishing 12-4 in 1982-83.  UW-La Crosse has recorded consecutive winning seasons for the first time since 1987-88 and 1988-89.  Seniors Chris Fehrenbach and Billy Kegler, along with junior Brandon Brown, started all 27 games a year ago.

Jeff Berkhof returns to UW-River Falls for his second year after leading the squad to the most wins since the 2003-04 campaign.
The Falcons begin the 2007-08 season with nine of their first 12 contests away from the Karges Center and play four of their first five WIAC games on the road.  UW-River Falls will host Bemidji State University (Minn.) in an exhibition game.  The Beavers are coached by Matt Bowen, son of former Falcon head coach Rick Bowen.

UW-Stout returns leading scorer sophomore Jerrel Enerson-Matthews, but lost nearly 40 percent of its rebounds and 80 percent of its blocked shots from last year.  The Blue Devils will travel to NCAA Division II runner-up Winona State University (Minn.) the third game of the season.  Head coach Ed Andrist coached the Qatar national team this summer in the Asian Games and Olympic qualifier.

UW-Eau Claire will travel to the Kohl Center for an exhibition matchup against UW-Madison and plays just one of its first nine games at home.  Senior Dan Beyer returns after leading the Blugolds in scoring in 11 games a year ago, including a league-season high 40 points at UW-Whitewater on Feb. 17.

Both of UW-Superior’s conference wins in 2006-07 were on the road, including a victory at UW-Eau Claire for just the second time in 35 years.  The Yellowjackets lost six games by eight points or less last season.   UW-Superior will travel to UW-Green Bay for an exhibition game and plays a five-game stretch of home games from Dec. 15 - Jan. 12.

2007-08 Preseason Picks (Voted on by WIAC Sports Information Directors)                                              
                                                2006-07 Record
1. UW-Stevens Point (8)     26-3, 15-1              
2. UW-Whitewater (1)         18-9, 10-6
3. UW-Platteville                  13-12, 8-8
4. UW-Oshkosh                   21-6, 12-4
5. UW-La Crosse                  19-8, 12-4
6. UW-River Falls                 10-16, 5-11
7. UW-Stout                          12-13, 5-11
8. UW-Eau Claire                  10-16, 3-13
9. UW-Superior                    7-18, 2-14

(  )--First-Place Votes

Team Vitals

UW-Eau Claire
Head Coach:  Terry Gibbons; 17th season (13th at UW-Eau Claire); 233-199 overall / 185-132 at UWEC
Letterwinners Returning/Lost:  13/6
Starters Returning/Lost:  3/2
Returning All-WIAC:  Dan Beyer, Sr., F (2007-Honorable)

UW-La Crosse
Head Coach:  Ken Koelbl; 5th season; 57-48 overall
Letterwinners Returning/Lost:  14/3
Starters Returning/Lost:  3/2
Returning All-WIAC:  Chris Fehrenbach, Sr., G (2007-Honorable)

UW-Oshkosh
Head Coach:  Ted Van Dellen; 18th season; 299-156 overall
Letterwinners Returning/Lost:  5/6
Starters Returning/Lost:  2/3
Returning All-WIAC:  None

UW-Platteville
Head Coach:  Paul Combs; 9th season (5th at UW-Platteville); 120-89 overall / 60-44 at UWP
Letterwinners Returning/Lost:  13/5
Starters Returning/Lost:  3/2
Returning All-WIAC:  Charlie Lohoff, Jr., G (2007-Honorable)

UW-River Falls
Head Coach:  Jeff Berkhof; 2nd season; 10-16 overall
Letterwinners Returning/Lost:  7/6
Starters Returning/Lost:  4/1
Returning All-WIAC:  Jontae Koonkaew, So., G (2007-Honorable); Nate Robertson, So., F (2007-Honorable)

UW-Stevens Point
Head Coach:  Bob Semling; 3rd season; 43-13 overall
Letterwinners Returning/Lost:  10/4
Starters Returning/Lost:  4/1
Returning All-WIAC:  Pete Rortvedt, Jr., F (2006-Honorable, 2007-First); Steve Hicklin, Sr., G (2007-First); Bryan Beamish, Jr., F (2007-Honorable)

UW-Stout
Head Coach:  Ed Andrist; 19th season (8th at UW-Stout); 351-269 overall / 101-78 at UWS
Letterwinners Returning/Lost:  12/7
Starters Returning/Lost:  2/3
Returning All-WIAC:  Jerrel Enerson-Matthews, So., G (2007-Honorable)

UW-Superior
Head Coach:  Dave Buchanan; 2nd season; 7-18 overall
Letterwinners Returning/Lost:  5/7
Starters Returning/Lost:  1/4
Returning All-WIAC:  None

UW-Whitewater
Head Coach:  Pat Miller; 7th season; 122-44 overall
Letterwinners Returning/Lost:  9/9
Starters Returning/Lost:  2/3
Returning All-WIAC:  Rob Perry, Sr., F (2006-Honorable)

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