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.