KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The West Liberty University men’s basketball team rode a pair of blowout wins all the way back to the Top 10 on Tuesday when the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) released its weekly NCAA Division Top 25.
Coach Ben Howlett’s Hilltoppers (16-2) vaulted all the way from No. 15 a week ago to No. 8 this week after taking over the national scoring lead with runaway victories at Alderson Broaddus (107-70) on Wednesday and home against Ohio County rival Wheeling (109-85) on Saturday.
That No. 8 ranking is the 160th Top 10 national ranking for West Liberty basketball and it’s the 197th Top 25 appearance for the Black and Gold – all coming in the past 15 seasons. Now averaging a nation’s best 99.1 ppg. after posting their 10th and 11th 100-point games of the season. The Hilltoppers also have a leg up on their 14th national scoring championship in the past 16 seasons.
There’s a strong regional flavor to the top of this week’s poll as three of the top eight teams hail from the hyper-competitive Atlantic Region. Joining No. 8 West Liberty in the Top 10 are No. 4 Indiana, Pa. (15-1) and No. 7 Fairmont State (15-2). Mercyhurst, Pa. (15-3) checks in at No. 21 with the University of Charleston (13-3) still among teams also receiving votes.
Only results from games played through Sunday night were taken into consideration for this week’s rankings so Indiana’s 70-68 loss at unranked Pitt-Johnstown won’t be factored in until next week’s voting.
The Hilltoppers travel to Davis & Elkins on Wednesday night before hosting West Virginia Wesleyan on Sunday. Other games of regional interest this week find Pitt-Johnstown traveling to Mercyhurst on Wednesday, Mercyhurst traveling to Indiana (Pa.) on Saturday. Also on Wednesday, Fairmont State heads to Institute to take on a West Virginia State team riding an 8-game winning streak. The Falcons return home to Joe Retton Arena on Saturday looking to avenge an early-season loss to Charleston.
MEN’S BASKETBALL
NCAA Division II Top 25
(January 25, 2022)
Team (FPV) Rec Pts Pvs
1. Lubbock Christian (15) 17-0 398 1
2. Nova Southeastern (1) 16-0 384 3
3. CSU-San Bernardino 14-1 362 5
4. Indiana, Pa. 15-1 347 6
5. NW Missouri State 17-2 339 2
6. CSU-San Marcos 13-1 323 4
7. FAIRMONT STATE 15-2 268 14
8. WEST LIBERTY 16-2 263 15
9. Central Oklahoma 16-2 254 18
10. UNC Pembroke 16-1 250 16
11. Minnesota Duluth 17-2 220 9
12. West Texas A&M 17-3 215 8
13. Chico State, Calif. 11-2 202 7
14. Augustana, S.D. 15-2 193 20
15. Regis, Colo. 14-2 161 12
16. Lincoln Memorial, Tenn. 14-3 146 10
17. Ferris State, Mich. 13-3 129 24
18. Queens, N.C. 15-3 122 22
19. Bentley, Mass. 13-2 117 23
20. Upper Iowa 17-3 110 13
21. Mercyhurst, Pa. 15-3 90 11
22. Barry, Fla. 13-3 65 25
23. Flagler, Fla. 14-3 60 NR
24. Augusta, Ga. 14-3 39 17
25. West Alabama 15-3 30 NR
Others receiving votes: Dominican (N.Y.) 28, Truman State (Mo.) 28, Grand Valley State (Mich.) 11, Union (Tenn.) 9, CHARLESTON 6, Malone (Ohio) 5, Georgia College 4, Fort Hays State (Kan.) 2, Wingate (N.C.) 2, Angelo State (Texas) 1, Daemen (N.Y.) 1, Embry-Riddle (Fla.) 1.