Morningside will go into the 2014-15 men’s basketball season as the 12th ranked team in the nation.

Morningside is ranked 12th in the nation in the NAIA Division II Men’s Basketball Coaches Pre-Season Top 25 Poll released on October 28.

The Mustangs are coming off a banner 2013-14 season where they posted a 25-9 record and won the Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) Post-Season Tournament with an 87-85 victory against GPAC regular season champion Dordt College in the title game. The victory put the Mustangs in the NAIA Division II National Tournament, where they suffered a 76-72 opening round defeat against Oklahoma Wesleyan University.

Morningside returns 12 lettermen, including four starters, from a team that was last year’s GPAC regular season runner-up with a 16-4 record.

The Mustangs are one of two teams from the GPAC ranked in the NAIA II Pre-Season Top 25. Aside from Morningside, Midland University is ranked second. 

Morningside will open the 2014-15 season with a 6 p.m. home game against Grand View University on Thursday followed by a 7:30 p.m. home game against No. 18 William Penn University on Friday.

Click here for the complete 2014-15 NAIA Division II Men’s Basketball Coaches’ Pre-Season Poll.