West Liberty Men Make History with No. 4 Ranking

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The West Liberty University men’s basketball team made history on Tuesday when the Mountain East Conference pace-setters moved up to No. 4 in the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) weekly NCAA Division Top 25.

   That lofty ranking marked a significant milestone for Coach Ben Howlett’s Hilltoppers (20-2) as it was the 100th time West Liberty men’s basketball had been ranked among the Top 5 nationally. The Black and Gold joined Kentucky Wesleyan and Northwest Missouri State as the only current NCAA Division II programs with 100 or more Top 5 appearances since the first poll was released during the 1960-61 season.

   It’s also the 162nd Top 10 national ranking for the Hilltoppers, trailing only Kentucky Wesleyan’s record 258 Top 10 appearances on the all-time list, and the 199th time West Liberty has earned a Top 25 ranking – a number reached by only six other schools.

   The Hilltoppers strengthened their hold on the top spot in the MEC standings last week with back-to-back impressive wins over two of their top challengers. West Liberty ended West Virginia State’s 10-game winning streak with a 96-84 victory on Wednesday before going down to Charleston on Saturday and completing a season sweep of the Golden Eagles by a 96-82 tally.

   Nova Southeastern (20-0), the nation’s only remaining unbeaten squad, moved into the No. 1 spot this week after previous front-runner Lubbock Christian (20-1) suffered its first loss of the season, a 75-73 setback against Dallas Baptist. Northwest Missouri State (21-2) moved up to No. 2 with Lubbock Christian barely holding off the Hilltoppers for No. 3. UNC Pembroke (20-1) rounded out this week’s Top 5.

   Fairmont State (18-3), only a game back of WLU in the conference standings, moved up to No. 10 in this week’s national rankings. Atlantic Region rivals Indiana, Pa. (19-2) and Mercyhurst (19-4) joined the Hilltoppers and Falcons in the poll at No. 7 and No. 20, respectively, with Pitt-Johnstown 19-4) joining the list of teams also receiving votes.

   West Liberty returns to action on Wednesday when WLU hosts Glenville State in a 7:30 p.m. game inside the ASRC.

 

MEN’S BASKETBALL

NCAA Division II Top 25

(February 8, 2022)

     Team (FPV)                                                Rec         Pts      Pvs

 1. Nova Southeastern (16)                      20-0        400          2

 2. NW Missouri State                               21-2        378          4

 3. Lubbock Christian                                 20-1        356          1

 4. WEST LIBERTY                                       20-2        352          5

 5. UNC Pembroke                                     20-1        333          6

 6. Minnesota-Duluth                                21-2        310          7

 7. Indiana, Pa.                                            19-2        305          8

 8. CSU-San Bernardino                             17-2        294          3

 9. Augustana, S.D.                                     19-2        276        11

10. FAIRMONT STATE                                18-3        260        12

11. Lincoln Memorial, Tenn.                     18-3        218        14

12. Ferris State, Mich.                                18-3        211        15

13. Central Oklahoma                                19-3        204        16

14. Chico State, Calif.                                 14-3        196        10

15. Queens, N.C.                                         20-3        183        17

16. CSU-San Marcos                                   14-3        162          9

17. Flagler, Fla.                                            18-3        139        21

18. Augusta, Ga.                                          18-3        125        23

19. Upper Iowa                                            20-4        100        19

20. Mercyhurst, Pa.                                    19-4          88        25

21. Bentley, Mass.                                       15-3          85        18

22. Union, Tenn.                                          18-4          62       NR

23. Regis, Colo.                                            16-4          51        13

24. West Texas A&M                                  20-5          46        20

25. Dominican, N.Y.                                    15-4          26        24

    Others receiving votes: Daemen (N.Y.) 11, Barry (Fla.) 5, Hillsdale (Mich.) 5, Fort Hays State (Kan.) 4, Saint Anselm (N.H.) 4, West Alabama 4, Biola (Calif.) 2, Miles (Ala.) 2, Pitt-Johnstown (Pa.) 2, SE Oklahoma State 1.


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