Hilltopper Men Locked in at No. 8 in NABC Poll

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The National Association of Basketball Coaches slotted the streaking West Liberty University men’s basketball team in at No. 8 for the third consecutive week on Tuesday when the NABC released its weekly NCAA Division II Top 25 poll.

   Coach Ben Howlett’s Hilltoppers (13-1) solidified their hold on the 159thTop 10 ranking in school history last week by rolling to three straight double-digit wins. The Black and Gold thumped Bowie State (Md.), 108-85, on Monday before breezing past Concord, 85-67, on Wednesday. West Liberty finished off the hat trick on Saturday with a 101-90 road win at Glenville State.

   This week’s NABC Top 25 looks quite similar to last week’s as the top 12 teams all held their positions from a week ago. West Liberty remained one of three Atlantic Region teams in the Top 10, once more being joined by No. 7 Mercyhurst (12-1) and No. 10 Indiana, Pa. (12-1) from the PSAC.

   The Mountain East Conference also has multiple teams in the Top 25 as Fairmont State (11-2) jumped up five spots from No. 23 to No. 18 this week. The Hilltoppers and Falcons are set to collide inside the ASRC on Saturday in one of the top NCAA Division II games of the week. In addition, Charleston (10-2) is once again listed among teams also receiving votes.

   West Liberty is scheduled to return to action on Wednesday when the Hilltoppers head to Maryland for a 7:30 p.m. game against Frostburg State.

MEN’S BASKETBALL

NCAA Division II Top 25

(January 11, 2022)

Team (FPV)                                                Rec         Pts      Pvs

 1. Lubbock Christian (13)                         14-0        395          1

 2. NW Missouri State (3)                         13-1        387          2

 3. Nova Southeastern, Fla.                      14-0        369          3

 4. Chico State, Calif.                                  10-0        348          4

 5. Minnesota Duluth                                15-0        338          5

 6. Cal State-San Bernardino                    11-1        314          6

 7. Mercyhurst, Pa.                                    12-1        298          7

 8. WEST LIBERTY                                       13-1        293          8

 9. Cal State-San Marcos                           11-0        263          9

10. Indiana, Pa.                                            12-1        245        10

11. West Texas A&M                                  16-2        240        11

12. Augusta, Ga.                                          12-1        222        12

13. Queens, N.C.                                         12-2        201        14

14. Lincoln Memorial, Tenn.                     12-2        181        15

15. Regis, Colo.                                            11-1        165        17

16. Upper Iowa                                            14-2        148        19

17. Barry, Fla.                                               10-2        142        18

18. FAIRMONT STATE                                11-2        114        23

19. UNC Pembroke                                     12-1        107        24

20. Dominican, N.Y.                                      9-2          74        13

21. Truman State, Mo.                               10-3          64        16

22. Central Oklahoma                                13-2          50       NR

23. Augustana, S.D.                                     12-2          42       NR

24. Georgia College                                    11-2          33        21

25. Bentley, Mass.                                         9-2          20       NR

    Others receiving votes: Ferris State (Mich.) 18, Missouri-St. Louis 17, Texas A&M-Commerce 17,CHARLESTON 16,Embry-Riddle (Fla.) 13, Hillsdale (Mich.) 13, Union (Tenn.) 9, Emporia State (Kan.) 8, Flagler (Fla.) 7, MSU-Denver (Colo.) 6, SE Oklahoma State 6, Southwest Baptist (Mo.) 4, Biola (Calif.) 2, Fort Hays State (Kan.) 2, West Alabama 2, Angelo State (Texas) 1.


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