The Lindenwood men's basketball team has been picked to finish in third place in the Central Division in the 2021-22 GLVC Preseason Poll, released on Thursday.
 
The Lions earned 10 points in their division, just five points behind top-ranked Missouri-St. Louis (15), and four points back from defending GLVC Champion in Truman State (14).  The Tritons and Bulldogs ranked in the top three in the conference last season for most conference victories.  Missouri-St. Louis and Truman State entered the 2020-21 GLVC Championships as the top two teams as well.  Lindenwood finished the season at an even 10-10 after falling in the first round of the GLVC Championship tournament.
 
In 2020-21, Lindenwood had five players averaging in double digits, including Romelo Burrell (12.3), Brandon Trimble (12.0), and Anthony Christian (10.8) who will return this season.  Burrell shot 47.8 percent from the floor, and pulled down 6.6 boards per contest.  Trimble led the team with a three-point percentage of 44.3, as he made 35 out of his 72 field goals from behind the arc.  Christian was limited to just 10 games played in 2020-21, but he averaged 10.8 points with 5.7 rebounds per game during that span.
 
The GLVC regular season schedule is broken down into three divisions, with each school playing a 20-game conference slate.  Each team will play divisional opponents twice, once at home and once on the road.  All teams will play opponents outside their respective divisions once, and they will see two non-divisional opponents, randomly chosen by the GLVC, twice throughout the year.  The top-eight teams with the most points derived from the familiar GLVC Point Rating System at the end of the regular season will earn a berth to the GLVC Basketball Championship Tournament.  The conference tournament will take place on March 3-6 at the Vadalabene Center in Edwardsville, Ill. on the campus of Southern Illinois University Edwardsville.
 
Lindenwood opens the season with a pair of exhibition games.  The Lions will cross the river to take on NCAA Division I St. Louis University on October 31, before heading to Chicago, Ill. to visit another Division I opponent in Northwestern on November 4.
 
Lindenwood begins the regular season on November 12, when its plays host to Parkside in the Lindenwood Tipoff Classic in Hyland Arena.  The Lions will play in Hyland Arena in eight of its 11 games before the turn of the calendar year.  On November 29, the Lions will begin GLVC play, as they host Maryville for a Monday night showdown at 7:30 p.m.  Lindenwood will have an early conference test against Missouri-St. Louis on December 4 in St. Charles, Mo.  Lindenwood closes out the 2021 portion of the schedule on December 17-18 in the Las Vegas Holiday Hoops Classic.
 
To begin the New Year, Lindenwood will head to Kirksville, Mo. to take on Truman State.  The Bulldogs made it to the Elite Eight in 2021, and rank No. 6 in the NABC Preseason Poll.  Lindenwood will look to get the ball rolling early, as the Lions close out the season with four of their last five games on the road.

2021-22 GLVC Men's Basketball Preseason Poll
EAST

Rank	School	Points (First-Place Votes)
1	Southern Indiana	13 (3)
T2	Illinois Springfield	11 (2)
T2	Lewis	11
4	UIndy	8
5	McKendree	7

CENTRAL

Rank	School	Points (First-Place Votes)
1	Missouri-St. Louis	15 (3)
2	Truman State	14 (2)
3	Lindenwood	10
4	Quincy	6
5	Maryville	5

WEST

Rank	School	Points (First-Place Votes
1	Drury	15 (3)
2	Southwest Baptist	14 (2)
3	Missouri S&T	8
4	William Jewell	7
5	Rockhurst	6