Hilltoppers Ranked No. 2 in Final NABC Top 25

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The West Liberty University men’s basketball team checked in at No. 2 on Tuesday when the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) released its final NCAA Division II Top 25 of the 2021-22 season.

   It’s the 15th Top 10 finish in the last 17 seasons for the Black and Gold (29-2), who will ride a 15-game winning streak into this weekend’s NCAA Division II Atlantic Region Tournament after completing a sweep of the Mountain East Conference’s regular-season and tournament championships.

   The top three teams remained unchanged from a week ago but there was plenty of movement elsewhere as five members of last week’s Top 10 failed to escape their respective conference tournaments unscathed.

   Nova Southeastern (28-0) was a unanimous pick for No. 1 after breezing through the Sunshine State Conference Tournament to finish off the school’s first unbeaten regular season. The MEC champion Hilltoppers were a solid No. 2 ahead of PSAC West and PSAC Tournament champion Indiana, Pa. (29-2), which edged out West Liberty for the No. 1 seed and hosting rights at the Atlantic Regional. Queens, N.C. (28-3) and Augusta, Ga. (28-3) round out the top five.

   Augustana, S.D. (24-3) dropped from No. 5 to No. 6 after an upset loss in a Northern Sun Conference semifinal while Lubbock Christian (24-3) fell from No. 4 to No. 7 following their loss in the semifinals of the Lone Star Conference Tournament. Cal State-San Marcos (20-4) moved up from No. 14 to No. 9 with its win over No. 8 Cal State-San Bernardino (23-3) in the CCAA title game. CSU-San Bernardino was No. 6 last week. Defending national champion Northwest Missouri State (28-5) jumped from No. 15 to No. 10 after rolling through the MIAA Tournament.

   Fairmont State (23-7), the only other MEC team receiving votes, fell to No. 24 following a 21-point loss to West Liberty in an MEC Tournament semifinal.

   The defending regional champion Hilltoppers are the No. 2 seed in this year’s Atlantic Regional and will open post-season play on Saturday afternoon when they take on No. 7 seed West Virginia State (23-7) in the 2:30 p.m. quarterfinal inside the Kovalchick Center on the IUP campus.

 

MEN’S BASKETBALL

Final NCAA Division II Top 25

(March 8, 2022)

     Team (FPV)                                                Rec         Pts      Pvs

 1. Nova Southeastern (16)                      28-0        400          1

 2. WEST LIBERTY                                       29-2        381          2

 3. Indiana, Pa.                                            29-2        370          3

 4. Queens, N.C.                                          28-3        331          9

 5. Augusta, Ga.                                          28-3        328        10

 6. Augustana, S.D.                                     24-3        296          5

 7. Lubbock Christian, Texas                    24-3        288          4

 8. CSU-San Bernardino                             23-3        272          6

 9. CSU-San Marcos                                   20-4        260        14

10. NW Missouri State                               28-5        249        15

11. UNC Pembroke                                     26-3        224          8

12. Lincoln Memorial, Tenn.                     25-4        214          7

13. Minnesota-Duluth                                25-5        203        12

14. Bentley, Mass.                                       22-4        194        16

15. Chico State, Calif.                                 19-4        186        11

16. West Texas A&M                                  28-6        172        18

17. Upper Iowa                                            25-5        147        13

18. Central Oklahoma                                24-6        128        17

19. St. Thomas Aquinas, N.Y.                    26-4        110        20

20. Walsh, Ohio                                           22-6          86       NR

21. Miles, Ala.                                              24-4          69        20

22. Black Hills State, S.D.                           22-7          52       NR

23. Mercyhurst, Pa.                                    24-6          50        22

24. Fairmont State                                      23-7          46        23

25. Barry, Fla.                                               20-8          29       NR

      Others receiving votes: Fort Hays State (Kan.) 23, West Alabama 16, Flagler (Fla.) 14, Ferris State (Mich.) 12, Point Loma (Calif.) 5, Washburn (Kan.) 5, Embry-Riddle (Fla.) 3, Hillsdale (Mich.) 3, Missouri-St. Louis 2, MSU Moorhead (Minn.) 2, California (Pa.) 1, Franklin Pierce (Vt.) 1.


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