MARSHALL, Minn. - The Southwest Minnesota State University men's basketball team is ranked No. 19 in the 2009-10 Basketball Times Preseason Top 25 poll.  It's the third preseason poll SMSU has been ranked in this season.

The Mustangs were ranked No. 12 by Division II Bulletin released earlier this month and No. 22 by the NABC released on Wednesday.

SMSU finished the 2008-09 season with a 28-7 overall record and won both the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference and NCAA Central Region championships. 

The Mustangs return eight letterwinners and three starters from last season's team including seven of its top 10 scorers.  SMSU returns seven players who averaged at least 14 minutes per game a season ago.

SMSU will host St. Olaf College on Tuesday, Nov. 3, in its first exhibition game of the season.

SMSU is one of three Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference teams ranked in the poll. 

Basketball Times 2009-10 Top 20
      1.   Bellarmine, Ky. (26-7)
      2.   BYU-Hawaii (27-2)
      3.   Central Missouri (30-5)
      4.   Valdosta State, Ga. (24-7)
      5.   Bentley, Mass. (26-7)
      6.   Indiana, Pa. (22-8)
      7.   Grand Valley State, Mich. (21-10)
      8.   Humboldt State, Calif. (20-12)
      9.   Cal Poly Pomona, Calif. (25-8)
     10. St. Cloud State, Minn. (22-9)
     11. Findlay, Ohio (36-0)
     12. Philadelphia, Pa. (25-6)
     13. Tusculum, Tenn.   (20-11)
     14. Merrimack, Mass. (21-9)
     15. Johnson C. Smith, N.C. (23-8)
     16. Winona State, Minn. (24-9)
     17. Northern Kentucky (24-7)
     18. Kutztown, Pa. (28-5)
     19. Southwest Minnesota State (28-7)
     20. Seattle Pacific, Wash. (19-10)