The West Liberty University men's basketball team posted a trio of impressive road wins last week to remain locked in at No. 2 in this week's NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Top 25 balloting conducted by the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC).
Coach Jim Crutchfield's Hilltoppers (19-1), who lead the nation in scoring offense, extended their nation's-best winning streak to 17 games to stay hot on the heels of defending national champion and No. 1-ranked Bellarmine, Ky. (18-1).
Tarleton State, Texas (19-1), which leads the nation in scoring defense, moved up to No. 3 after squeezing past No. 11 Midwestern State, Texas while Winona State, Minn. (19-2) and Colorado School of Mines (17-2) round out the top five.
West Liberty blew past the century mark in all three of its road wins last week. The Hilltoppers cruised to a 108-87 victory at Davis & Elkins before hammering Bluefield State, 134-93. West Liberty then battled back from a rare halftime deficit to hold off Concord, 103-98.
This marks the 33nd consecutive week the Hilltoppers have been ranked in the NABC Top 25, the longest run by a WVIAC program since Salem was ranked for an NCAA Division II record 76 straight weeks from 1997 to 2003. West Liberty was the only conference team receiving votes in this week's poll.
The two-time defending WVIAC champions will be gunning for their eighth consecutive 20-win season under Crutchfield Wednesday night when they return to the friendly confines of the ASRC for a 7:30 p.m. game against Shepherd.
NABC DIVISION II TOP 25
Men's Basketball
(Jan. 24, 2012)
Team Rec Pts Pvs
1. Bellarmine, Ky. (8) 18-1 200 1
2. WEST LIBERTY 19-1 191 2
3. Tarleton State, Texas 19-1 185 4
4. Winona State, Minn. 19-2 176 6
5. Colorado School of Mines 17-2 158 11
6. Alabama-Huntsville 15-3 146 12
7. Kentucky Wesleyan 16-3 145 7
8. Southern Indiana 16-3 140 8
9. Lincoln Memorial, Tenn. 18-2 135 5
10. Christian Brothers, Tenn. 15-3 113 15
11. Midwestern State, Texas 16-2 112 10
12. Metropolitan State, Colo. 17-3 108 3
13. Indiana, Pa. 15-3 106 16
14. Shaw, N.C. 16-2 91 17
15. Northern Kentucky 15-4 79 9
16. Western Washington 18-3 78 18
17. Bowie State, Md. 15-3 75 19
18. Hillsdale, Mich. 17-2 71 20
19. West Georgia 18-3 63 22
20. St. Cloud State, Minn. 16-3 48 13
21. Alaska-Anchorage 15-4 42 25
22. Northwest Missouri State 16-3 37 NR
23. Missouri Southern 16-5 15 14
24. South Carolina-Aiken 15-4 12 24
25. (tie) King, Tenn. 17-3 11 NR
25. (tie) Winston-Salem State, N.C. 15-3 11 NR
Others receiving votes: Arkansas Tech 8, District of Columbia 8, Cal Poly-Pomona 6, Central Missouri 6, Indianapolis (Ind.) 6, LIU-C.W. Post (N.Y.) 5, Seattle Pacific (Wash.) 5, Montevallo (Ala.) 3, Fort Hays State (Kan.) 2. Stonehill (Mass.) 2, Adelphi (N.Y.) 1.
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