LOUISVILLE, Ky -- The Knights lifted a spot to No. 6 in the second National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) NCAA Division II poll of the 2009-10 regular season. Bellarmine's season record improved to 4-1 this past weekend with wins over Minnesota-Duluth and Michigan Tech.
BYU-Hawaii remained atop the poll in unanimous fashion, gathering all eight first place votes after opening its season with a pair of wins last week. Central Missouri, Valdosta State and Florida Southern, all of whom picked up victories away from their home arenas a week ago, retained the next three positions, with Augusta State moving up one place to fifth by virtue of Bentley's three-point loss to Saint Anselm prior to Thanksgiving.
Bellarmine and Southwest Baptist also moved up one spot apiece to sixth and seventh, respectively, followed by Indiana (Pa.), Findlay and Bentley to round out the top 10.
The bigger moves took place after the top 10, with Southwest Minnesota State sliding up four spots to No. 11, followed by Kutztown, Rollins and two more undefeated teams at 14th and 15th in Arkansas Tech and Drury. Cal Poly Pomona occupies the No. 16 spot this week, with Metropolitan State, Seattle Pacific, St. Cloud State and Grand Valley State completing the top 20. Metro State dropped from 12th to 17th, while St. Cloud State fell 10 places after its loss Sunday to Augustana.
All four of the newcomers to this week's Top 25 are among the final five teams in the poll, headed by Georgia College and State at No. 21. Minnesota State is ranked 22nd and Midwestern State 23rd, then Winona State – 14th a week ago – comes in at No. 24 followed by Anderson in the final spot.
NABC/Division II Coaches Poll (Dec. 1, 2009 – Regular season poll #2)
Record Points Pvs
1. BYU-Hawaii (8 first place votes) 2-0 200 1
2. Central Missouri 4-0 190 2
3. Valdosta State, Ga. 5-0 184 3
4. Florida Southern 5-0 174 4
5. Augusta State, Ga. 4-0 171 6
6. Bellarmine, Ky. 4-1 156 7
7. Southwest Baptist, Mo. 7-1 148 8
8. Indiana, Pa. 3-0 143 11
9. Findlay, Ohio 3-1 133 10
10. Bentley, Mass. 4-1 130 5
11. Southwest Minnesota State 4-0 118 15
12. Kutztown, Pa. 1-0 110 13
13. Rollins, Fla. 4-0 105 16
14. Arkansas Tech 5-0 75 23
15. Drury, Mo. 4-0 69 25
16. Cal Poly Pomona 1-1 68 17
17. Metropolitan State, Colo. 3-1 64 12
18. Seattle Pacific, Wash. 4-0 62 24
19. St. Cloud State, Minn. 3-1 61 9
20. Grand Valley State, Mich. 2-1 55 18
21. Georgia College & State 4-0 39 NR
22. Minnesota State 5-0 28 NR
23. Midwestern State, Texas 6-0 26 NR
24. Winona State, Minn. 4-1 21 14
25. Anderson, S.C. 3-0 14 NR
Dropped out: Tusculum (19), LeMoyne (20), West Virginia State (21), Humboldt State (22).
Others receiving votes: LeMoyne (N.Y.) 12, Western Washington 9, Fort Lewis (Colo.) 8, Adelphi (N.Y.) 7, West Liberty State (W.Va.) 5, Harding (Ark.) 3, Tarleton State (Texas) 3, Texas A&M-Commerce 3, Augustana (S.D.) 2, Fort Hays State (Kan.) 2, Mesa State (Colo.) 1, Southern Indiana 1.
