The Milwaukee School of Engineering may only have about 2,200 full-time students, but it also has 21 teams competing at the NCAA Division-III level. In 2003, MSOE’s basketball team became the first program in school history to make the NCAA tournament.
Last season, Coach Brian Miller’s Raiders compiled an 18-8 record that stands as the best in program history. MSOE finished second in the Northern Athletics Conference (NAC).
This year, MSOE returns a pair of all-conference honorees in 6-4 juniors Austin Meier and Jeremy Off.
Meier, a forward who was also named NAC rookie of the year during the 2007-08 season, averaged 13.8 points and 8.0 rebounds per game last year. His 84 steals ranked ninth in all of Division-III.
Off, listed as a center, led the Raiders in scoring with a 15.3 ppg average, His 67.3 percent field-goal shooting ranked second in the nation among D-III competition.
Both players had a 32-point effort as their season-high scoring output and are accurate, though infrequent, three-point marksmen
Sophomore guard Bennett Deacon also averaged 9.5 ppg last season. He will be expected to up his contributions this year, as the Raiders lose two other starting backcourt members, in Jamel Sabree and Andy Voight, to graduation. Though Voight’s departure may be a blessing in disguise, as he committed a team-high 90 turnovers last season.
Though they boast no players taller than 6-5, the Raiders have plenty of experience, with eight upperclassmen and only one freshman on the roster. The team also played in five overtime games last year, winning two.
Last year’s MSOE squad scored about 75 ppg and shot just under 72 percent from the free-throw line.
SIDE NOTES:
MSOE was founded in 1903. Sixty-eight percent of its current students are Wisconsin natives. The school does not employ teaching assistants.
The Raiders’ roster includes a sophomore guard named Austin Kearns. No information was available as to whether he shares any relations with the Washington Nationals outfielder of the same name.