KANSAS CITY, Mo.--The Bellarmine men's basketball team cracked the national Top 25 for the first time this season in the final National Association of Basketball Coaches poll of 2010 NCAA Division II basketball.
Bellarmine debuted in the No. 19 spot with their overall season record (22-8) and their win over then No. 3 Kentucky Wesleyan in the Great Lakes Valley Conference championship game on Sunday, March 7. The Knights were previously not ranked in the Division II Coaches Poll and their jump to No. 19 is the biggest jump of any team in the nation.
Arkansas Tech, which held the top spot in the national rankings for five weeks this season, will head into the NCAA Division II Tournament as the top-ranked team in the country in the final NABC/Division II coaches poll for the 2009-10 season.
The Wonder Boys won the Gulf South Conference Tournament over the weekend to finish the regular season at 29-1 – the only team in Division II with fewer than two losses – and earned the top seed for the South Regional that begins Saturday in Russellville, Ark. Two other teams that won conference tournaments, Indiana (Pa.) and Midwestern State, ended up second and third in the final poll.
Last week's top-ranked team, Augusta State, dropped to fourth after its loss in the Peach Belt semifinals, while Kentucky Wesleyan dropped two places to No. 5 after falling Sunday to Bellarmine in the GLVC title game.
Valdosta State heads up the next five at No. 6, while Central Missouri falls three places to No. 7 and Minnesota State holds its position at No. 8. Southern Indiana, who is not eligible for post-season play this season, ended up at No. 9 in the final poll and West Liberty comes in at No. 10 – with its only two losses of the season being one-point setbacks at the hands of West Virginia State.
Sunshine State Conference Tournament champion Rollins opens the second 10 at No. 11, followed by West Virginia State, Florida Southern, Fort Hays State and Western Washington, who will be one of nine hosts for regional tournament play this weekend. St. Cloud State, who won the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Tournament, is ranked 16th this week, with Georgia College & State, Seattle Pacific, Bellarmine and Stonehill rounding out the top 20.
The final five teams in the final rankings include three newcomers – Metropolitan State at No. 21, St. Augustine's at No. 23 and Mount Olive at No. 24. Clark Atlanta (No. 22) and Augustana (No. 25) retained their spots in the rankings.
NABC/Division II Coaches Poll (March 9, 2010 – Regular season poll #15)
Record Points Pvs
1. Arkansas Tech (8 first place votes) 29-1 200 2
2. Indiana, Pa. 28-2 189 5
3. Midwestern State, Texas 28-2 182 6
4. Augusta State, Ga. 26-3 170 1
5. Kentucky Wesleyan 29-4 166 3
6. Valdosta State, Ga. 25-4 156 7
7. Central Missouri 25-3 145 4
8. Minnesota State 24-4 144 8
9. Southern Indiana 24-3 137 11
10. West Liberty, W.Va. 27-2 120 10
11. Rollins, Fla. 25-5 114 17
12. West Virginia State 28-3 105 18
13. Florida Southern 25-4 89 12
14. Fort Hays State 22-6 81 13
15. Western Washington 25-5 78 21
16. St. Cloud State, Minn. 25-5 70 24
17. Georgia College & State 22-5 66 14
18. Seattle Pacific, Wash. 22-5 64 9
19. Bellarmine, Ky. 22-8 45 NR
20. Stonehill, Mass. 23-5 44 16
21. Metropolitan State, Colo. 23-6 42 NR
22. Clark Atlanta, Ga. 24-6 38 20
23. St. Augustine's, N.C. 26-4 35 NR
24. Mount Olive, N.C. 25-5 25 NR
25. Augustana, S.D. 22-6 23 15
Dropped out: Bentley (19), Drury (22), Mesa State (23), Central Oklahoma (25).
Others receiving votes: Bentley (Mass.) 23, Mesa State (Colo.) 15, Drury (Mo.) 11, Kutztown (Pa.) 7, East Stroudsburg (Pa.) 6, Cal Poly Pomona 3.
Records are through games of March 7, 2010...previous ranking is from March 2 poll.
