CORVALLIS, Ore. – After sweeping the 2021-22 Cascade Collegiate Conference regular-season and tournament championships last year, the College of Idaho was picked as the 2022-23 CCC Men’s Basketball Preseason Poll favorite, announced Wednesday.
The Coyotes grabbed 11 of the 12 possible first-place votes to earn 143 points on the preseason poll. C of I won both the regular-season championship and the CCC Men’s Basketball Tournament, presented by U.S. Bank, and went on to finish with a 32-5 overall record. The Coyotes advanced to the quarterfinals of the NAIA National Championship after grabbing the first of the CCC’s two automatic qualifiers (AQs).
Oregon Tech picked up 127 points to sit second on the poll. Last year, the Hustlin’ Owls finished the year with a 22-11 record after grabbing the CCC’s second AQ as the second seed in the conference tournament. OIT advanced to the NAIA Opening Round Championship but dropped a close battle to William Jessup University.
Lewis-Clark State College earned one first-place vote to sit in third in the poll with 114 points. The Warriors finished the 2021-22 season with a 22-11 mark and advanced to the NAIA Opening Round with an at-large berth.
Eastern Oregon University (101 points) and Southern Oregon University (90 points) rounded out the top-five teams, while Corban University (87 points), Multnomah University (76 points), and Bushnell University (62 points) filled in spots six through eight. Warner Pacific University picked up 55 points to sit in ninth, followed by Northwest University in 10
th with 39 points. The Evergreen State College (34 points) and Walla Walla University (16 points) closed out the poll at ninth and 10
th, respectively.
The CCC conference season begins on Nov. 22, with the CCC Men’s Basketball Tournament tipping off on Feb. 21 at campus sites. The championship game will play out on Feb. 27, with the winner grabbing one of the CCC’s AQ to the NAIA Championship Tournament.
2022-23 CCC Men’s Basketball Preseason Poll
| Team (First-Place Votes) |
Points |
| 1. College of Idaho (11) |
143 |
| 2. Oregon Tech |
127 |
| 3. Lewis-Clark State College (1) |
114 |
| 4. Eastern Oregon University |
101 |
| 5. Southern Oregon University |
90 |
| 6. Corban University |
87 |
| 7. Multnomah University |
76 |
| 8. Bushnell University |
62 |
| 9. Warner Pacific University |
55 |
| 10. Northwest University |
39 |
| 11. The Evergreen State College |
34 |
| 12. Walla Walla University |
16 |
