KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The West Liberty University men’s basketball team continued its climb up the NCAA Division II rankings ladder on Tuesday when the Black and Gold hit No. 5 on the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) weekly NCAA Division Top 25.
Currently all alone atop the Mountain East Conference standings, Coach Ben Howlett’s Hilltoppers (18-2) posted two more blowout wins a week ago to move up three spots from their No. 8 ranking. West Liberty smothered Davis & Elkins, 87-54, on Wednesday before hammering West Virginia Wesleyan, 109-65, on Sunday afternoon.
The No. 5 ranking is the 161st Top 10 national ranking for West Liberty basketball and the 198th Top 25 appearance for the Black and Gold – all coming in the past 15 seasons. It also marks the 99th time the Hilltoppers have been ranked in the Top 5, a total that trails only Kentucky Wesleyan and Northwest Missouri State among current NCAA Division II programs.
The top three teams remained unchanged from a week ago with Lubbock Christian (19-0) and Nova Southeastern (18-0) still locked into the top two spots. Cal State-San Bernardino (16-1) is No. 3 with Northwest Missouri State (19-2) edging out the Hilltoppers for No. 4 by a single point.
West Liberty’s Top 5 ranking will be put to the test on Wednesday when West Virginia State (15-5) rides its 10-game winning streak into the ASRC. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m.
MEN’S BASKETBALL
NCAA Division II Top 25
(February 2, 2022)
Team (FPV) Rec Pts Pvs
1. Lubbock Christian (14) 19-0 398 1
2. Nova Southeastern (2) 18-0 385 2
3. CSU-San Bernardino 16-1 366 3
4. NW Missouri State 19-2 351 5
5. WEST LIBERTY 18-2 350 8
6. UNC Pembroke 18-1 296 10
7. Minn.-Duluth 19-2 293 11
8. Indiana, Pa. 17-2 291 4
9. CSU-San Marcos 14-2 260 6
10. Chico State, Calif. 13-2 240 13
11. Augustana, S.D. 17-2 237 14
12. FAIRMONT STATE 16-3 223 7
13. Regis, Colo. 16-2 192 15
14. Lincoln Memorial, Tenn. 16-3 182 16
15. Ferris State, Mich. 16-3 175 17
16. Central Oklahoma 17-3 160 9
17. Queens, N.C. 17-3 146 18
18. Bentley, Mass. 14-2 127 19
19. Upper Iowa 19-3 118 20
20. West Texas A&M 18-4 108 12
21. Flagler, Fla. 16-3 78 23
22. Barry, Fla. 14-3 72 22
23. Augusta, Ga. 16-3 68 24
24. Dominican, N.Y. 13-3 28 NR
25. Mercyhurst, Pa. 17-4 23 21
Others receiving votes: Union (Tenn.) 15, Fort Hays State (Kan.) 14, Georgia College 9, Malone (Ohio) 5, Daemen (N.Y.) 3, Angelo State (Texas) 2, Saint Anselm (N.H.) 1, SE Oklahoma State 1