Release courtesy of John Kean, Sports Information Director, Missouri S&T
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – West Liberty
University, one of the highest-scoring teams in NCAA Division II
and a participant in the last two Elite Eights, has been tabbed as
the No. 1-ranked team in the nation in the National Association of
Basketball Coaches pre-season rankings for the upcoming 2012-13
season.
The Hilltoppers, who have won the last three West Virginia
Intercollegiate Athletic Conference titles, received 12 of the 16
first place votes in the pre-season poll to take the top
spot. Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association
pre-season favorite Washburn was picked second, followed by
Alabama-Huntsville, who like West Liberty has appeared in the last
two Elite Eights and is the pre-season favorite in the Gulf South
Conference.
The last two national champions occupy two of the next four spots,
with Bellarmine picked in the fourth spot and last year’s
champion, Western Washington, picked sixth. In between the
two is Metropolitan State, who was picked to win the Rocky Mountain
Athletic Conference title this season after reaching the Elite
Eight a year ago.
The other three participants in last year’s Elite Eight
– Montevallo, Stonehill and Midwestern State –
are also ranked in the top 25 at the start of the year, with
national finalist Montevallo checking in at No. 11, Stonehill, who
eliminated West Liberty in the quarterfinals, at No. 22 and
Midwestern State at No. 23.
The remainder of the top 10 after Western Washington consists of
Winona State, Findlay, Seattle Pacific and
Franklin Pierce, all of whom were picked to win their conferences
or in Findlay’s case, division title in the Great Lakes
Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.
The 2012-13 basketball season begins across the country on Friday, Nov. 9.
|
Team |
Record |
Points |
|
1. West Liberty (W.Va.) (12) |
394 |
394 |
|
2. Washburn (Kan.) |
25-8 |
365 |
|
3. Alabama-Huntsville (1) |
29-4 |
341 |
|
4. Bellarmine (Ky.) (2) |
29-4 |
334 |
|
5. Metropolitan State (Colo.) |
25-7 |
303 |
|
6. Western Washington (1) |
31-5 |
278 |
|
7. Winona State (Minn.) |
25-5 |
271 |
|
8. Findlay (Ohio) |
24-7 |
244 |
|
9. Seattle Pacific (Wash.) |
23-8 |
231 |
|
10. Franklin Pierce (N.H.) |
22-8 |
209 |
|
11. Montevallo (Ala.) |
29-8 |
190 |
|
12. Southern Indiana |
24-7 |
170 |
|
13. Colorado School of Mines |
29-3 |
154 |
|
14. Saint Leo (Fla.) |
18-12 |
150 |
|
15. Winston-Salem State (N.C.) |
21-9 |
140 |
|
16. Christian Brothers (Tenn.) |
25-7 |
129 |
|
17. Tarleton State (Texas) |
27-6 |
123 |
|
18. Lincoln Memorial (Tenn.) |
26-6 |
117 |
|
19. Arkansas Tech |
26-6 |
110 |
|
20. Chico State (Calif.) |
25-8 |
98 |
|
21. Bloomfield (N.J.) |
26-8 |
93 |
|
22. Stonehill (Mass.) |
25-9 |
79 |
|
23. Midwestern State (Texas) |
27-6 |
73 |
|
24. Barton (N.C.) |
20-10 |
68 |
|
25. Cal Poly Pomona |
19-8 |
58 |
Others receiving votes: Shaw (N.C.) 55, Florida Southern 47, Southwest Minnesota State 42, Indiana (Pa.) 36, Northwest Missouri State 33, St. Cloud State (Minn.) 28, Benedict (S.C.) 22, Bowie State (Md.) 21, Hillsdale (Mich.) 21, East Stroudsburg (Pa.) 15, West Texas A&M 14, Wingate (N.C.) 14, Drury (Mo.) 13, LIU Post (N.Y.) 13, Charleston (W.Va.) 11, Indianapolis (Ind.) 11, Cal State-San Bernardino 9, South Carolina Aiken 9, Augusta State (Ga.) 8, Dixie State (Utah) 8, Michigan Tech 8, Massachusetts-Lowell 7, Central Missouri 6, Grand Canyon (Ariz.) 6, Missouri-St. Louis 6, Central Washington 4, Kentucky Wesleyan 4, Mount Olive (N.C.) 3, Wayne State (Mich.) 2.