West Liberty Men Make History with No. 4 Ranking
Hilltoppers Only 3rd NCAA D2 Program to Earn 100 Top 5 Appearances
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.