Men’s basketball picked seventh in 2020-21 HCAC preseason poll

CARMEL, Ind. – Heading into its long-awaited upcoming season, the Defiance College men's basketball team is picked to finish seventh among the 10 Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference squads, according to the 2020-21 HCAC Men's Basketball Preseason Poll. The poll was comprised after a vote of the conference's head coaches and released by the HCAC office on Monday morning.

Defiance finished with 42 points in the poll, just three behind rival Bluffton University. Transylvania University, which won a share of the conference regular season championship and the HCAC Tournament title last season, received 80 points to claim the top spot and is followed by Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology (71), Franklin College (64), Hanover College (62) and Anderson University (54). Behind the Yellow Jackets are Manchester University (30 points), Earlham College (26) and Mount St. Joseph University (21).

DC also had five players named to the 2020-21 HCAC Players to Watch list in junior guard Marell Jordan (Chicago, Ill./Lafayette (Ind.) Jefferson), junior forward Tyler Andrew (Indianapolis, Ind./Lawrence Central), sophomore guard Jack Kolar (Cincinnati, Ohio/Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy), sophomore guard Avonte Jones (Columbus, Ohio/Pickerington Central) and sophomore forward/center Chase Glock (Stryker, Ohio/Stryker).

Jordan was a Second Team All-HCAC selection last year after leading Defiance in points per game (14.8), total points (356), field goals made (138), steals (38) and steals per contest (1.6). He also tied for the team lead in field goal percentage (52.3 percent, 138 of 264) while averaging 4.7 rebounds and 2.0 assists an outing. Jordan shot 42.6 percent (29 of 68) from three-point range and 83.6 percent (51 of 61) at the free throw line as a sophomore.

The Yellow Jackets are under the direction of sixth-year head coach Scott Cutter. In 2019-20, DC posted an 11-14 overall record, including 6-12 in conference play to tie for seventh place.

Defiance is scheduled to open its 2020-21 campaign this Friday when hosting Bluffton at 8 p.m.