KANSAS CITY--The top two teams from last year's final NABC/Division II men's basketball rankings are now the top two teams in the current poll, as defending national champion Bellarmine and West Liberty occupy the those spots in the new rankings released today.
Bellarmine, who held the number one spot in November, returns to the top of the rankings after posting three wins last week, including a home win over No. 9 Northern Kentucky, coupled with two losses by last week's top-ranked team, Kentucky Wesleyan. Meanwhile, West Liberty – the No. 1 team in the final 2010-11 rankings ahead of Bellarmine – moved up to No. 2 after recording a pair of victories of its own a week ago.
The next three teams in the poll all moved up one spot as well, with Metropolitan State, Tarleton State and Lincoln Memorial completing the top five. Winona State moved up two spots to No. 6, followed by three teams from the Great Lakes Valley Conference – Kentucky Wesleyan, Southern Indiana and Northern Kentucky – with Midwestern State rounding out the top 10.
The second 10 begins with Colorado School of Mines at No. 11, followed by Alabama-Huntsville, St. Cloud State, Missouri Southern and Christian Brothers. Alabama-Huntsville and Christian Brothers essentially swapped spots in the rankings after the Chargers' win Sunday over the Buccaneers. The next five teams are Indiana (Pa.), Shaw, Western Washington, Bowie State and Hillsdale.
The final five teams in this week's poll are Indianapolis, West Georgia, Fort Hays State, South Carolina Aiken and Alaska-Anchorage.
NABC/Division II Men's Basketball Poll
(Tuesday, January 24, 2012 -- Poll #8)
The weekly poll is being conducted by eight members of the NABC Division II Congress, one representing each of the eight NCAA Division II regions.
All records are through games of Sunday, Jan. 22. The next poll will be released Tuesday, Jan. 31.
|
|
Team
|
Record
|
Points
|
|
|
1.
|
Bellarmine (Ky.) |
16-1
|
200
|
(8 first place votes) |
|
2.
|
West Liberty (W.Va.) |
16-1
|
190
|
|
|
3.
|
Metropolitan State (Colo.) |
17-1
|
184
|
|
|
4.
|
Tarleton State (Texas) |
16-1
|
178
|
|
|
5.
|
Lincoln Memorial (Tenn.) |
17-1
|
161
|
|
|
6.
|
Winona State (Minn.) |
17-2
|
157
|
|
|
7.
|
Kentucky Wesleyan |
15-2
|
146
|
|
|
8.
|
Southern Indiana |
15-2
|
140
|
|
|
9.
|
Northern Kentucky |
15-2
|
129
|
|
|
10.
|
Midwestern State (Texas) |
15-1
|
128
|
|
|
11.
|
Colorado School of Mines |
15-2
|
126
|
|
|
12.
|
Alabama-Huntsville |
14-3
|
112
|
|
|
13.
|
St. Cloud State (Minn.) |
15-2
|
101
|
|
|
14.
|
Missouri Southern |
16-3
|
95
|
|
|
15.
|
Christian Brothers (Tenn.) |
14-3
|
86
|
|
|
16.
|
Indiana (Pa.) |
13-3
|
78
|
|
|
17.
|
Shaw (N.C.) |
15-2
|
64
|
|
|
18.
|
Western Washington |
17-3
|
51
|
|
|
19.
|
Bowie State (Md.) |
13-3
|
46
|
|
|
20.
|
Hillsdale (Mich.) |
15-2
|
45
|
|
|
21.
|
Indianapolis (Ind.) |
14-3
|
35
|
|
|
22.
|
West Georgia |
17-3
|
34
|
|
|
23.
|
Fort Hays State (Kan.) |
13-4
|
24
|
|
|
24.
|
South Carolina Aiken |
13-3
|
21
|
|
|
25.
|
Alaska-Anchorage |
13-4
|
13
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Others receiving votes: Minnesota State-Moorhead 11, Arkansas-Monticello 9, Winston-Salem State (N.C.) 9, Adelphi (N.Y.) 6, Montevallo (Ala.) 5, Northwest Missouri State 5, Alderson-Broaddus (W.Va.) 4, C.W. Post (N.Y.) 2, Anderson (S.C.) 1, Bemidji State (Minn.) 1, Bentley (Mass.) 1, Florida Tech 1, Missouri-St. Louis 1.
Dropped out: Minnesota State-Moorhead (18), Cal Poly Pomona (20), Seattle Pacific (24).
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