KANSAS CITY, Mo. – An upset loss at Fairmont State on Saturday has knocked West Liberty out of the No. 1 spot in the NCAA Division II Top 25 for the first time this season.
Coach Jim Crutchfield’s Hilltoppers (14-1) checked in at No. 5 on Tuesday when the National Association of Basketball Coaches’ ranking committee released the results of its weekly balloting.
West Liberty’s loss opened the door for Indianapolis (15-0) to make the jump from No. 3 to No. 1 with seven first-place votes. Lincoln Memorial, Tenn. (16-0), the nation’s only other unbeaten squad, stayed at No. 2 despite picking up the nine remaining first-place votes. Florida Southern (15-1) and Barry, Fla. (13-1) occupied the next two spots with Barry just edging out the Hilltoppers at No. 4. Augustana, S.D. (17-1), Bellarmine, Ky. (13-2), Minnesota State-Moorhead (20-1), Colorado School of Mines (14-1) and California Baptist (14-1) rounded out this week’s Top 10.
West Liberty got last week off to an impressive start on Monday, shooting better than 60 percent from the floor and the 3-point arc to beat Glenville State, 117-108, at Glenville in a battle of the Mountain East Conference’s top two teams. Playing without injured guard Devin Hoehn, who had 34 points at Glenville, the Hilltoppers never found the rangeon Saturday against a hot-shooting Fairmont team. WLU shot a season-low 43 percent from the floor in a 99-83 loss.
West Liberty and Indiana, Pa. (15-3) remain the only two Atlantic Region teams receiving votes. The Crimson Hawks slipped to No. 25 this week after being upset at home by Slippery Rock.
This is the 74th consecutive Top 25 appearance for the Hilltoppers, a streak which dates back to Feb. 2, 2010 and leaves the Black and Gold just three weeks shy of breaking the NCAA Division II record for consecutive poll appearances.
The current record for consecutive appearances since the Division II poll was introduced during the 1960-61 season is shared by Salem International and current NCAA Division I member Grambling. Salem was ranked in 76 consecutive Top 25s from Jan. 21, 1997 to March 11, 2003 while the Louisiana-based Tigers had a 76-week run from Jan. 5, 1961 to March 9, 1967.
The Hilltoppers will look to bounce back from Saturday’s loss on Thursday night when they host Ohio County rival Wheeling Jesuit. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m. at the ASRC.
MEN’S BASKETBALL
NCAA Division II Top 25 Poll
(January 13, 2015)
Team (FPV) Rec Pts Pvs
1. Indianapolis, Ind. (7) 15-0 391 3
2. Lincoln Memorial, Tenn. (9) 16-0 387 2
3. Florida Southern 15-1 356 6
4. Barry, Fla. 13-1 333 7
5. WEST LIBERTY 14-1 328 1
6. Augustana, S.D. 17-1 314 9
7. Bellarmine, Ky. 13-2 290 4
8. Minnesota State-Moorhead 20-1 286 12
9. Colorado School of Mines 14-1 282 5
10. California Baptist 14-1 260 11
11. Angelo State, Texas 15-1 241 14
12. Colorado-Colorado Springs 15-2 210 8
13. UNC-Pembroke 16-1 193 15
14. Metropolitan State, Colo. 14-3 169 17
15. Tarleton State, Texas 14-2 150 10
16. Mount Olive, N.C. 15-2 147 20
17. Azusa Pacific, Calif. 15-2 136 13
18. Ferris State, Mich. 14-2 131 19
19. Wisconsin-Parkside 14-1 129 22
20. Minnesota State 14-3 101 21
21. BYU-Hawaii 12-2 73 24
22. Central Missouri 15-3 53 25
23. Midwestern State, Texas 15-3 51 NR
24. Lynn, Fla. 12-2 48 NR
25. Indiana, Pa. 15-3 40 16
