Release courtesy of John Kean, Sports Information Director, Missouri S&T
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – West Liberty retained
the top spot in the final NABC/Division II men’s basketball
rankings for the 2012 calendar year, but weekend losses by Washburn
and Southern Indiana – last week’s second and
seventh-ranked teams, has altered the look of the top 10 heading
into the holiday season.
In a week with light action nationwide as many institutions were
in final examinations, West Liberty was idle and held onto the top
spot as a result. However, Washburn was bumped off by Newman
– who entered the rankings for the first time ever at No. 18
– and Southern Indiana fell to Nova Southeastern, opening up
the top portion of the poll for the first time this season.
Metropolitan State, Alabama-Huntsville, Bellarmine and Western
Washington all moved up one spot into the top 10, while Cal Poly
Pomona and Seattle Pacific advanced two spots apiece to sixth and
seventh, respectively. Washburn fell to No. 8 with its loss
and is followed by Kentucky Wesleyan and Franklin Pierce to round
out the top 10, the rise for the latter two coming as a result of
losses by last week’s 10th and
11th-ranked teams.
The second ten begins with Indianapolis, followed by three more
teams that were undefeated through Sunday in Augusta State,
Assumption and Drury. Barton and Indiana (Pa.) occupy the
next two spots, with Southern Indiana dropping to No. 17 due to its
loss Friday. Newman enters the poll at No. 18 after its
17-point win over Washburn (Newman and Assumption both lost games
Monday, which will be reflected in the next poll on Jan. 8.) and
St. Cloud State fell to No. 19 after being handed its first setback
Saturday.
The last six teams this week are in the same order as a week ago:
Lincoln Memorial, Minnesota State, Tampa, Winston-Salem State,
Findlay and Alaska-Anchorage.
NABC/Division II Coaches Poll (Dec. 18, 2012 – Regular season poll #5)
Record Points Pvs
1. West Liberty, W.Va. (13 first place votes) 8-0 395
1
2. Metropolitan State, Colo. (1 first place vote) 9-0 378
3
3. Alabama-Huntsville (1 first place vote) 7-1 364 4
4. Bellarmine, Ky. (1 first place vote) 8-0 352 5
5. Western Washington 7-0 344 6
6. Cal Poly Pomona 8-0 325 8
7. Seattle Pacific, Wash. 8-1 298 9
8. Washburn, Kan. 7-1 266 2
9. Kentucky Wesleyan 6-0 257 13
10. Franklin Pierce, N.H. 7-1 244 12
11. Indianapolis, Ind. 7-0 239 14
12. Augusta State, Ga. 5-0 229 15
13. Assumption, Mass. 8-0 183 17
14. Drury, Mo. 7-0 172 19
15. Barton, N.C. 7-1 156 16
16. Indiana, Pa. 6-1 148 18
17. Southern Indiana 6-1 142 7
18. Newman, Kan. 9-0 121 NR
19. St. Cloud State, Minn. 7-1 109 11
20. Lincoln Memorial, Tenn. 7-1 95 20
21. Minnesota State 8-1 85 21
22. Tampa, Fla. 8-0 81 22
23. Winston-Salem State, N.C. 7-2 52 23
24. Findlay, Ohio 6-2 36 24
25. Alaska-Anchorage 8-2 33 25
Dropped out: Northwest Missouri State (10).
Others receiving votes: Adams State (Colo.) 31, Florida Southern 22, Cal State-San Bernardino 8, West Texas A&M 6, Fort Lewis (Colo.) 4, Grand Canyon (Ariz.) 4, Michigan Tech 4, Northwest Missouri State 4, North Alabama 3, Augustana (S.D.) 2, Harding (Ark.) 2, Minnesota State-Moorhead 2, Shepherd (W.Va.) 2, Rollins (Fla.) 1, Winona State (Minn.) 1.
Records are through games of Sunday, Dec. 16, 2012.