West Liberty Still No. 2 in Coaches' Top 25

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The surging West Liberty University men’s basketball team received its third consecutive No. 2 national ranking on Tuesday when the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) released its weekly NCAA Division II Top 25.

   Coach Ben Howlett’s Hilltoppers (26-2) posted two more blowout wins last week to close out the regular season on a 12-game winning streak. West Liberty will be the No. 1 seed in this week’s Mountain East Conference Tournament after winning 22 of their last 23 games en route to a fifth consecutive MEC crown.

   There was very little movement in this week’s poll as the top 12 spots remained unchanged. Nova Southeastern (25-0) stayed put at No. 1 heading into its Sunshine State Conference Tournament with Indiana, Pa. (26-2), Lubbock Christian (25-2) and Augustana (24-2) rounding out the top five.

   Fairmont State (21-6) – the MEC’s only other ranked team – suffered an upset loss to Frostburg State and slipped from No. 16 to No. 23 in this week’s nationwide balloting.

   The West Liberty men open MEC Tournament play in Friday’s 6 p.m. quarterfinal when they take on the survivor of Wednesday night’s first-round game between No. 8 Alderson Broaddus and No. 9 Wheeling.

 

MEN’S BASKETBALL

NCAA Division II Top 25

(March 1, 2022)

     Team (FPV)                                                Rec         Pts      Pvs

 1. Nova Southeastern (16)                      25-0        400          1

 2. WEST LIBERTY                                       26-2        381          2

 3. Indiana, Pa.                                            26-2        365          3

 4. Lubbock Christian, Texas                    25-2        350          4

 5. Augustana, S.D.                                     24-2        336          5

 6. CSU-San Bernardino                             22-2        320          6

 7. Lincoln Memorial, Tenn.                     24-3        298          7

 8. UNC Pembroke                                     25-2        284          8

 9. Queens, N.C.                                          25-3        273          9

10. Augusta, Ga.                                          25-3        255        10

11. Chico State, Calif.                                 19-3        226        11

12. Minnesota-Duluth                                24-4        225        12

13. Upper Iowa                                            25-4        208        14

14. CSU-San Marcos                                   17-4        178        19

15. NW Missouri State                               25-5        169        13

16. Bentley, Mass.                                       19-4        147        20

17. Central Oklahoma                                23-5        137        15

18. West Texas A&M                                  25-6        116        22

19. Miles, Ala.                                              23-3        100        23

20. St. Thomas Aquinas, N.Y.                    24-4          91        24

21. Fort Hays State, Kan.                           22-5          88        18

22. Mercyhurst, Pa.                                    23-5          72        17

23. FAIRMONT STATE                                21-6          61        16

24. West Alabama                                       23-5          43       NR

25. Flagler, Fla.                                            21-6          27        21               

    Also receiving votes: Embry-Riddle (Fla.) 21, Michigan Tech 17, Truman State (Mo.) 15, Georgia College 10, West Alabama 6, Black Hills State (S.D.) 1


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