KANSAS CITY, Mo.--The National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) released its Division II Men's Basketball Preseason Poll on Tuesday morning, and Bellarmine is in the No. 3 position, just behind defending national champion Northwest Missouri State and Nova Southeastern.
This year's poll marks the 11th straight season Bellarmine has appeared in the rankings, the longest streak in the nation. West Liberty is among the preseason top 25 for the 10th year in a row.
Fourteen of the schools in the top 25 also were in the 2018-19 preseason top 25 with Nova Southeastern, Ashland, St. Edward's, Daemen and Concordia (Calif.) making the preseason rankings for the first time ever.
A total of 60 schools received votes in the pre-season poll, and all 23 NCAA Division II conferences have at least one of its teams listed either among the top 25 or receiving votes. The Great Lakes Valley Conference is also represented by Southern Indiana, which checks in at No. 18.
Bellarmine, which kicks off its season tonight with an exhibition game at (DI) No. 5 Louisville, was 28-5 last season and captured its third straight GLVC Tournament title.
The Knights, who play Notre Dame in exhibition game on Friday, open regular season play Nov. 8 by hosting Northwood.
2019-20 NABC PRESEASON RANKINGS:
|
Record |
Points |
Last |
| 1. Northwest Missouri State |
38-0 |
400 |
1 |
| 2. Nova Southeastern (Fla.) |
29-4 |
375 |
5 |
| 3. Bellarmine (Ky.) |
28-5 |
353 |
7 |
| 4. West Liberty (W.Va.) |
28-5 |
305 |
9 |
| 5. UC San Diego |
26-8 |
294 |
NR |
| 6. Lincoln Memorial (Tenn.) |
20-9 |
278 |
NR |
| 7. West Texas A&M |
34-4 |
266 |
3 |
| 8. Queens (N.C.) |
31-5 |
247 |
10 |
| 9. Southern Nazarene (Okla.) |
29-6 |
239 |
13 |
| 10. Missouri Southern |
25-8 |
220 |
NR |
| 11. Indiana (Pa.) |
30-3 |
213 |
2 |
| 12. Valdosta State (Ga.) |
24-7 |
203 |
21 |
| 13. Augusta (Ga.) |
28-6 |
162 |
16 |
| 14. Colorado School of Mines |
25-6 |
144 |
14 |
| 15. Northern State (S.D.) |
26-7 |
135 |
19 |
| 16. Alabama Huntsville |
24-8 |
127 |
NR |
| 17. Findlay (Ohio) |
28-5 |
120 |
8 |
| 18. Southern Indiana |
26-9 |
109 |
NR |
| 19. Ashland (Ohio) |
23-7 |
102 |
NR |
| 20. St. Edward's (Texas) |
30-4 |
83 |
4 |
| 21. Saint Anselm (N.H.) |
26-6 |
68 |
20 |
| 22. Daemen (N.Y.) |
24-6 |
63 |
22 |
| 23. Concordia (Calif.) |
23-11 |
60 |
NR |
| 24. Tarleton State (Texas) |
21-10 |
46 |
NR |
| 25. Morehouse (Ga.) |
20-5 |
39 |
NR |
| Records final from 2018-19 season. |
| Last ranking is from final ranking of 2018-19 season. |
Others receiving votes: Azusa Pacific (Calif.)
38, Cal Poly Pomona 38, Jefferson (Pa.) 38, Augustana (S.D.) 36, Seattle Pacific (Wash.) 36, USC Aiken 31, Florida Southern 30, Bowie State (Md.) 28, Christian Brothers (Tenn.) 26, Bentley (Mass.) 25, Washburn (Kan.) 25, Davenport (Mich.) 22, Barry (Fla.) 19, St. Thomas Aquinas (N.Y.) 18, New Haven (Conn.) 17, Catawba (N.C.) 15, Southeastern Oklahoma State 14, Minnesota State 13, UNC Pembroke 13, Lewis (Ill.) 12, Point Loma (Calif.) 9, Western Oregon 8, Cal State East Bay 6, Fort Hays State (Texas) 6, Chaminade (Hawai'i) 5, Emmanuel (Ga.) 5, East Stroudsburg (Pa.) 4, Bridgeport (Conn.) 3, Lynn (Fla.) 2, Western Washington 2, Belmont Abbey (N.C.) 1, Dixie State (Utah) 1, Indianapolis (Ind.) 1, Saint Martin's (Wash.) 1, Slippery Rock (Pa.) 1. |
