"This will be the biggest team we face all season," said SBU's head coach, Jeff Guiot. "Nevill is an NBA prospect. We'll have to rebound the ball well, be tough with the ball, and execute our plays. And we'll have to hit our shots. We feel like we will get shots, which we'll need to convert. The key for us is to be active on both ends of the court. The game is played at a high altitude, so we'll have to be ready for that."

The Bearcats open the 2008-09 season ranked the #12 in the NABC Division II Pre-Season coaches poll. The Bearcats, who are the reigning regular-season MIAA champions, have been picked to repeat their conference championship in the MIAA preseason coaches poll.

Last season, the Bearcats were 22-8 with a 14-4 record in the MIAA, which earned the Bearcats their second MIAA regular-season championship in three years. They were a perfect 15-0 at home and earned an invitation to the NCAA Tournament where they lost in the second round.

Key returners for the Bearcats will include Junior Matt Rogers, who has been named as a Division II Bulletin 2008-09 Preseason All-American. Rogers set the MIAA's career record for blocked shots last season as a sophomore (217) and averaged 14.9 points, 7.8 rebounds and 4.5 blocked shots in'07-08. He was named as a unanimous selection last season to the All-MIAA First Team, and was also named as the MIAA Defensive Player of the Year. SBU’s D’Ante Harris was named as a member of the ALL-MIAA Second Team. Nick Kovacevich will provide more leadership this season as he did during last year's NCAA Tournament by scoring 23 points and grabbing 10 rebounds against West Texas A&M, and scoring a team-high 18 points against Tarleton State.

Game Notes