INDIANAPOLIS – The University of Missouri-St. Louis men's basketball team is picked to finish third in the Great Lakes Valley Conference Preseason Poll, as announced by the league office on Thursday. The annual GLVC Men's Basketball Preseason Poll was voted on by the league coaches and ranks all 14 teams in predicted order of finish.

UMSL, the defending Midwest Regional Champions and GLVC runner-up, received 128 points in the poll. The Tritons are coming off a 24-11 campaign that saw them advance to the Elite Eight. UMSL returns seven players from last year's squad including GLVC All-Freshman team selection Matt Enright.

Enright appeared in all 35 contests last season with 34 starts and averaged 7.1 points per game, connected on 33 percent of his attempts from beyond the arc and was second on the team with 91 assists. Also returning are Janeir Harris and Mayson Quartlebaum. Harris averaged 6.4 points and 3.2 rebounds per game while Quartlebaum averaged 5.0 points and 2.3 rebounds per contest.

Indianapolis, last season's regular season champion, was tabbed as the favorite with 169 points, including 13 of the 14 available first place votes given that Conference bylaws state a school cannot vote for itself. Illinois Springfield was picked second, garnering 155 points in the poll and the final first-place vote. UMSL, William Jewell (118) and McKendree (117) rounded out the top five.

The top-eight teams with the most points derived from the GLVC Point Rating System at the end of the regular season will earn a berth to the GLVC Basketball Championship Tournament on March 7-10 at Hyland Arena on the campus of Lindenwood University.

The Tritons begin their 2023-24 season next weekend (Nov. 4-5) at the Small College Basketball Hall of Fame Classic. UMSL will take on Cedarville in its season opener next Saturday at 12:15 p.m. (CDT) and Bentley on Sunday at 12:15 p.m. (CST). Both games will be held at Jenkins Fieldhouse on the campus of Florida Southern in Lakeland, Fla.

The Tritons host William Jewell in their home opener on November 30 at 7:30 p.m.

2023-24 GLVC Men's Basketball Preseason Poll
1. Indianapolis 169 (13)
2. Illinois Springfield 155 (1)
3. Missouri-St. Louis 128
4. William Jewell 118
5. McKendree 117
6. Missouri S&T 97
7. Southwest Baptist 84
8. Upper Iowa 78
9. Quincy 69
10. Lewis 63
11. Rockhurst 61
12. Drury 51
13. Maryville 46
14. Truman State 38