LOUISVILLE, Ky.--The Bellarmine University men’s basketball team has been ranked preseason number one in the country again. This time Basketball Times tabs Bellarmine to be atop of the NCAA Div. II. This is the second poll that has ranked the Knights No. 1, Sporting News had Bellarmine at the top spot earlier this month.
Basketball Times picked BYU-Hawaii as No. 2, followed by Central Missouri, Valdosta State, and Bentley. Indiana (Pa.) checks in at No. 6 while Grand Valley State, Humboldt Sate, Cal Poly Pomona, and St. Cloud State round out the top-10. Findlay, last year’s national champion, who beat Bellarmine in OT, is ranked No. 11.
Two future Bellarmine opponents also made the top 20. Tusculum, which will visit Knights Hall on Dec. 21, checks in at No. 13, and GLVC rival Northern Kentucky occupies the No. 17 spot.
The magazine also honors Bellarmine sophomore Braydon Hobbs in its list of Top 25 All America players. Also included on the list is fellow GLVC player Aaron Hill from Rockhurst. Hobbs, who was named to the D-II All-Freshman Team last year, will be a key contributor for the Knights this year. The Knights return four starters and nine of their top 10 scorers from a team that won a school record 26 games last season.
The Knights tip of their season next Wednesday with an exhibition game against the University of Louisville at Freedom Hall.