The Geneva College men's basketball team, like the school's football squad, is a provisional member of the Presidents' Athletic Conference this season, which means the Golden Tornadoes play a PAC schedule but are not eligible to win the conference title.

It doesn't mean Geneva will just go through the motions against PAC opponents.

"At the PAC news conference I said, 'Everybody says we have nothing to play for. Well, every time we come into a gym, we're playing to win and to do well. Our games mean something when we come to your gym,'" coach Jeff Santarsiero said.

Actually, Geneva does have something to play for. The Golden Tornadoes will play host to the National Christian College Athletic Association tournament this season and have an automatic spot in the field as the host school. Plus, Geneva wants to put on a good showing in the PAC.

Geneva won't be eligible for the PAC title until all of its scholarship athletes from its NAIA days graduate. By joining the PAC, the Golden Tornadoes are moving into NCAA Division III, which does not allow athletic scholarships.

The Golden Tornadoes are also playing for pride. Santarsiero believes his team underachieved last season in going 14-16 and Geneva hasn't had a winning record since 2004-5 when it was 19-12.

Geneva opened its PAC schedule this past Friday with a heartbreaking 75-74 loss against Grove City. The Golden Tornadoes (3-3) entertained Washington & Jefferson last night and are at Bethany at 4 p.m. Saturday.

Santarsiero has a 20-man roster and three returning starters. Depth is a strong suit and in the past two games he has used 13 players.

"We'll probably use 14 players most games," Santarsiero said. "It's not hard to use that many guys most games because there are situations that warrant it. If an opposing player is giving us trouble, I can put a defender in who I think is the best matchup for us to stop that guy for two or three minutes.

"It's more about opportunity for the players. Because we are going to use a lot of guys, they have to be ready. To be honest, our seven through 14th [players] are pretty equal ... and not bad equal but good equal."

The returning starters are guards Justin Nardi, a 6-foot junior and Blackhawk High School product; sophomore Bryan Hill, 5-9 from Becksville, Pa., and senior forward Greg McDivitt, 6-7 from Windham, Ohio. McDivitt averaged 12.2 points a game last year, Hill 9.6 and Nardi 5.5 and 4.5 assists.

Hill is an outstanding 3-point shooter -- he was 4 of 10 against Grove City -- and Nardi runs the point.

The other starters have been senior Ryan Burns, 6-4 from New Hampshire, and Zac Northen, a 6-5 senior swingman from West Allegheny High School.

Matt Blocki, a 6-7 sophomore from Pine-Richland High; Kyle Frohnapple, a 6-3 sophomore from Cleveland; Mike Ross, a 6-3 senior from East Liverpool, Ohio; and Joey Deep, a 5-10 sophomore from Riverside High School, have also seen considerable action.

"We have more versatility than we did last year," Santarsiero said. "Last year, we didn't have a backup behind Nardi at the point, but this year we've got Joey Deep who can play there and [5-10 freshman] Brandon Sopko."

Last season, Geneva looked to get the basketball inside to McDivitt, 6-7 Kyle McDermott and 6-6 Jermaine Ferguson. McDermott and Ferguson, who averaged 14.7 and 14.8 ppg, respectively, have graduated and the focus has shifted.

"We want to get a touch inside because that will open up the shooters for some 3s," Santarsiero said. "Really, what we want to do is push the ball more. Our half-court offense got bogged down some last season because people knew we wanted to go inside, so we're looking to beat teams down the court and get some quick baskets.

"With our depth we can do that and it should help us wear teams down. I think we've already done that once or twice."

If Geneva has a weakness, it's in the rebounding department. Last season, the Golden Tornadoes' front line was 6-7, 6-7, 6-6. This year it's 6-7, 6-5, 6-4, with both guards 6-0 or shorter.

"We've got pretty good size for Division III, but we need to do a better job rebounding," Santarsiero said.

While a 20-victory season is pretty much out of the question -- Geneva has just 25 regular season games -- it isn't unrealistic to think the Golden Tornadoes could win 16 or 17 wins.

"I'd be pretty happy with 17 wins," Santarsiero said. "But what we are doing this year is just focusing on the next game. When you don't have [a conference title] to play for, it allows you just to worry about that next one."