What we learned at the Small College Basketball Hall of Fame Classic

The DII men's basketball season is officially underway. Ten teams collided in Lakeland, Florida, for the 2023 Small College Basketball Hall of Fame Classic and two teams walked away with perfect records.

Let's take a look at the weekend that was, as the rest of DII men's basketball prepares to open their season this weekend.

RANKINGS: The preseason Power 10

The Small College Basketball Hall of Fame Classic results

Saturday, Nov 4

• Bentley 69, Colorado School of Mines 51
• Cedarville 75, UMSL 70
• Central Oklahoma 97, Mercyhurst 58
• Florida Southern 79, Virginia Union 62
• UNC Pembroke 78, Emporia State 73

Sunday, Nov. 5

• Colorado School of Mines 65, Mercyhurst 62 
• UMSL 76, Bentley 73
• Central Oklahoma 82, Cedarville 75
• Florida Southern 87, UNC Pembroke 82
• Emporia State 72, Virginia Union 59

Central Oklahoma, Florida Southern leave perfect, 2-0

Both the Bronchos and Mocs got the party started right. And each did so in a big way as each team not only left the tournament a perfect 2-0 but made a major statement victory along the way.

Central Oklahoma downed a pesky Cedarville team in a tight one to close the tournament, but that came a day after a dominating blowout victory over preseason No. 25 Mercyhurst. The Bronchos defeated the Lakers 97-58 in a game where there were no lead changes or ties, and Central Oklahoma commanded the flow and tempo from whistle to whistle. Four players scored in double figures while the Bronchos shot a remarkable 64 percent from the floor. 

The Mocs are showing that with all the turnover at Nova Southeastern, they are real contenders for the Sunshine State Conference crown. Their second win showed they can hang with anyone, upsetting preseason No. 8 UNC Pembroke 87-82. Jadin Booth led the way with 38 points (more on him in a bit) but it was also Alex Steen who made his presence felt. Steen registered a double-double in the opening game, scoring 15 points and grabbing 15 rebounds in a win against Virginia Union while adding 14 points and seven rebounds in the upset. That is quite the one-two punch the Mocs have.

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2023-24 sleeper alert: All eyes on Cedarville

Cedarville isn't a powerhouse program in DII men's basketball, with just one 20-win season in the past decade and one lone NCAA DII tournament appearance along the way. You wouldn't know that the way they played in Florida this past weekend. 

Cedarville opened the season with a 75-70 victory over Missouri-St. Louis — a team that was in the DII Men's Elite Eight a year ago — and took Central Oklahoma to the wire in an 82-75 loss. The Bronchos came in at No. 9 in the preseason Power 10 rankings and are one of the best teams in the land, so that is quite a victory despite what the scoreboard says. Jayvon Maughmer is a special player and led the way with 31 points and seven rebounds in the opening victory while dropping 22 with six rebounds and five assists in the loss. Ashland is the projected team to beat in the G-MAC, but Cedarville made a major statement on opening weekend.

Player of the year watch

Earlier this preseason, I released a watchlist that had 15 players who should contend for the DII men's basketball player of the year and the Small College Basketball Bevo Francis Award. Three of those players were on the court this weekend and all three showed out, each earning tournament honors when the weekend concluded.

👀 🏆 👀 15 DII men's basketball players to watch for the 2023-24 season

• Jadin Booth, Florida Southern: Booth was the tournament's MVP for the second year in a row, the first two-time winner in the history of the tournament. He scored 30 points on opening night and 38 points in the upset of preseason No. 8 UNC Pembroke. He's deadly from beyond the arc (going 11-for-20 on the weekend) and also finished the weekend with 10 assists. The Mocs are going to go far this year if he stays healthy. 
• Zach Laput, Bentley: Laput is simply too good and has the ability to fill the stat sheet in several categories every night. He scored 40 points in the two games at the tournament with 14 rebounds and seven assists. The Falcons left the weekend with a split and Laput earned all-tournament team honors.
• Jaden Wells, Central Oklahoma: The Bronchos left Florida undefeated, and Wells joined Laput on the all-tournament team as a result. He scored 20 in the opening win over Mercyhurst and 29 in the tightly contest battle with Cedarville, going 10-for-16 from 3-point land in the process. With Wells at the helm, the Bronchos are a team to beat in the super deep Central Region. 

The rest of the field

Here's a few quick takeaways on teams and players not already discussed. 

Mercyhurst head coach Gary Manchel knew it would be a battle to start the season. "We have a lot of unknowns going into this year with only one returning starter in Jeff Planutis," he said via email in the preseason. "Our sophomores will need to take a big step forward if we are going to stay atop the PSAC. We'll need to be elite on the defensive end especially at the beginning of the year to get wins before our young guys can develop." The Lakers did struggle in the loaded tournament field but did bounce back nicely against Colorado School of Mines with a strong second half that looked much more like the team they should be.

Speaking of Colorado School of Mines, exciting transfer Majok Deng — an honorable mention in the player-of-the-year watchlist — had a strong DII men's basketball debut. He was kept somewhat in check in game one, scoring just 11 points, but what a rebound in game two. Deng had an 18-point first half, starting the game 5-for-5 (and 4-for-4 from 3-point land) and finishing with 31 points in the Orediggers' first victory of the year.

Missouri-St. Louis made a somewhat surprising run to the DII Men's Elite Eight last year but lost a lot of that talent heading into the season. That was reflected in the preseason rankings, where the Tritons didn't make the top 25. After losing to Cedarville in game one, this team rebounded to take down No. 16 Bentley in a big-time upset. Troy Glover II was a big reason why, recording one of the weekend's few double-doubles with 20 points and 14 rebounds in the win.

Emporia State is going to be tough this year. Shorthanded, the Hornets fell to UNC Pembroke on opening night but bounced back in a big way to dominate Virginia Union. There are some big-time scorers here as Alijah Comithier — who made the all-tournament team — averaged 18 points in the two games, Owen Long scored 17.5 points per game while shooting 44.4 percent from downtown and Atavian Butler finished the weekend with an average of 13.5 points per game. 

Yes, UNC Pembroke leaves Florida with a loss, but it shouldn't change much in the long run. This team, like last year, is so deep. In the loss to Florida Southern, five Braves scored in double figures as this team has a ton of experience and a bevy of shooters. JaJuan Carr was named to the all-tournament team while Amare Miller had a huge game two, recording a double-double with 24 points on 12 of 13 shooting to go with 14 rebounds, including an impressive six off the offensive glass.

Virginia Union wasn't able to pick up a win, but Tahj Harding showed how special a player he is on the big stage. In game one, the 6-foot-5 guard shot 50 percent from 3 to score 15 points while pulling down six rebounds. In game two against that really good Emporia State squad, he reached double figures again, scoring 18 while ripping down five rebounds. He is a player to watch this season.