KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The Bellarmine Knights will open the 2019 calendar year as the top-ranked team in the NABC/Division II coaches poll with Bellarmine remaining atop the final rankings of 2018 released on Friday.
Six of the nine remaining undefeated teams in NCAA Division II head up the final poll of calendar year, led by the same four teams that have led the rankings throughout the season. The top four spots remained the same with Bellarmine staying on top of the poll and Northwest Missouri State, Indiana (Pa.) and Saint Anselm in the next three spots. Two additional unbeaten squads, Nova Southeastern and USC Aiken, moved up into the next two positions in the poll.
Seventh-ranked Florida Southern is the highest-ranked team with a loss on its record, but enters the NCAA winter break on a five-game winning streak that it will take into a road contest against Nova Southeastern on Dec. 29. Cal Poly Pomona rose one spot to eighth, while Valdosta State fell to ninth after losing for the first time and undefeated Ashland jumps into the top 10 for the first time since late in the 2015-16 campaign.
Morehouse rose to 11
th and Chaminade, who captured four games in four days including a win over then No. 14 UC San Diego to win the D2 Power Invitational in Honolulu earlier this week jumped eight spots in the poll to 12th. West Texas A&M checks in at No. 13 and UC San Diego dropped to 14th.
Bentley, West Liberty and Queens (N.C) all moved up two spots apiece and St. Thomas Aquinas made a three-spot jump to 18
th in front of Southern Nazarene, who dropped to 19
th after suffering a loss in the tournament in Hawai'i. The next three teams in the poll – Missouri Southern, Saint Martin's and St. Edward's – all rose two spots ahead of Findlay, who fell to 23
rd after a loss to Lewis on Wednesday.
Point Loma joined the top 25 for just the second time as an NCAA Division II member as it checks in at No. 24 ahead of Shippensburg, who remained at No. 25 going into the winter break.
Lynn, the last of the undefeated teams in NCAA Division II, is the first team outside the top 25 and Lewis (out of the Great Lakes Valley Conference) is right behind Lynn after picking up the win over Findlay.
Play on the floor for Bellarmine resumes on Dec. 29 when the Knights host Martin Methodist in a 5:30 p.m. contest. (That start time is adjusted from the original schedule, which called for a 3 p.m. tip.)
Bellamrine also held onto the No. 1 ranking in the National Media Poll conducted by the Division II sports information directors (D2SIDA). The next rankings for both the NABC and D2SIDA polls will be Jan. 8.
NABC/Division II Rankings
(Dec. 21, 2018 – Regular Season Poll #5) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Record |
Points |
Last |
| 1. |
Bellarmine, Ky. (16) |
9-0 |
400 |
1 |
| 2. |
Northwest Missouri State |
11-0 |
384 |
2 |
| 3. |
Indiana, Pa. |
11-0 |
367 |
3 |
| 4. |
Saint Anselm, N.H. |
9-0 |
353 |
4 |
| 5. |
Nova Southeastern, Fla. |
9-0 |
331 |
6 |
| 6. |
USC Aiken |
11-0 |
318 |
8 |
| 7. |
Florida Southern |
9-1 |
280 |
10 |
| 8. |
Cal Poly Pomona |
5-1 |
277 |
9 |
| 9. |
Valdosta State, Ga. |
10-1 |
273 |
5 |
| 10. |
Ashland, Ohio |
10-0 |
238 |
16 |
| 11. |
Morehouse, Ga. |
9-1 |
218 |
15 |
| 12. |
Chaminade, Hawai'i |
10-2 |
207 |
20 |
| 13. |
West Texas A&M |
12-2 |
202 |
13 |
| 14. |
UC San Diego |
10-2 |
186 |
7 |
| 15. |
Bentley, Mass. |
10-1 |
183 |
17 |
| 16. |
West Liberty, W.Va. |
8-2 |
144 |
18 |
| 17. |
Queens, N.C. |
12-2 |
130 |
19 |
| 18. |
St. Thomas Aquinas, N.Y. |
9-1 |
108 |
21 |
| 19. |
Southern Nazarene, Okla. |
10-2 |
106 |
11 |
| 20. |
Missouri Southern |
10-1 |
101 |
22 |
| 21. |
Saint Martin's, Wash. |
9-1 |
94 |
23 |
| 22. |
St. Edward's, Texas |
11-1 |
86 |
24 |
| 23. |
Findlay, Ohio |
9-2 |
47 |
14 |
| 24. |
Point Loma, Calif. |
9-2 |
39 |
NR |
| 25. |
Shippensburg, Pa. |
10-2 |
36 |
25 |
|
|
|
|
|
Others receiving votes: Lynn (Fla.) 25, Lewis (Ill.) 21, Daemen (N.Y.) 7, Western Oregon 6, Tarleton State (Texas) 4, Texas A&M-Commerce 4, UNC Pembroke 3, Eckerd (Fla.) 2, St. Cloud State (Minn.) 2, Fairmont State (W.Va.) 1, Washburn (Kan.) 1.
Dropped out: Barry (12).
Records are through games of Wednesday, Dec. 19.
|
D2SIDA Men's Basketball
National Media Poll
Week 6 – December 21, 2018 |
| Rank |
School |
Pts. |
Record |
Prev. |
| 1. |
Bellarmine (8) |
295 |
9-0 |
1 |
| 2. |
Northwest Missouri State (4) |
292 |
11-0 |
2 |
| 3. |
Indiana (Pa.) |
277 |
11-0 |
3 |
| 4. |
Saint Anselm |
264 |
9-0 |
4 |
| 5. |
USC Aiken |
244 |
11-0 |
6 |
| 6. |
Nova Southeastern |
236 |
9-0 |
9 |
| 7. |
St. Edward's |
216 |
11-1 |
8 |
| 8. |
Valdosta State |
200 |
10-1 |
5 |
| 9. |
Chaminade |
190 |
10-0 |
23 |
| 10. |
West Texas A&M |
189 |
12-2 |
10 |
| 11. |
Lewis |
163 |
7-1 |
12 |
| 12. |
UC San Diego |
145 |
10-2 |
6 |
| 13. |
Queens (N.C.) |
142 |
12-2 |
13 |
| 14. |
Missouri Southern |
136 |
10-1 |
T15 |
| 15. |
Lynn |
129 |
9-0 |
T15 |
| T16. |
St. Thomas Aquinas |
99 |
9-1 |
17 |
| T16. |
Ashland |
99 |
10-0 |
24 |
| 18. |
West Liberty |
98 |
8-2 |
19 |
| 19. |
Saint Martin's |
79 |
9-1 |
11 |
| 20. |
Bentley |
75 |
10-1 |
22 |
| 21. |
Florida Southern |
62 |
9-1 |
25 |
| 22. |
Southern Nazarene |
61 |
10-2 |
14 |
| 23. |
Cal Poly Pomona |
49 |
5-1 |
21 |
| 24. |
Fairmont State |
44 |
8-3 |
18 |
| 25. |
UNC Pembroke |
33 |
8-1 |
RV |
()-first place votes
Others Receiving Votes (on more than one ballot):
Findlay – 32; Texas A&M-Commerce – 29; 5 schools named on one ballot each
12/16 National Voters This Week |
