Men's Basketball | 1/11/2011 4:40:27 PM
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – West Liberty University's unbeaten men's basketball team made history on Tuesday when Coach
Jim Crutchfield's Hilltoppers were ranked No. 1 in the weekly NCAA Division II national Top 25 coaches' poll compiled by the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC).
West Liberty (11-0), which leads the nation in scoring at 122.6 ppg. and hasn't trailed in the second half of a game all season, received all 8 first-place votes from an NABC ranking committee composed of one coach from each of the eight NCAA Division II regions.
Crutchfield noted that national polls are little more than beauty contests but concedes there are worse things than being singled out as the prettiest girl at the dance by a committee of your peers.
“Something like this brings a lot of positive publicity to our program, the university and the conference,” Crutchfield said, “and that's always a good thing. It's a tribute to the hard work our players have put in on and off the court and the support we've received from our administration and our fans.
“There's a lot of basketball left to be played and this really wasn't one of our goals but we certainly appreciate the recognition. It just gives us a little extra motivation as we get into the meat of our conference schedule.”
The Hilltoppers moved up from the No. 2 spot this week after Findlay (Ohio), last week's No. 1 team, was upset by Wayne State (Mich.) on Saturday.
Bellarmine (Ky.) is No. 2 this week with Fort Hays State (Kan.), Hillsdale (Mich.) and Augusta State (Ga.) rounding out the top five. Findlay fell all the way to No. 8.
West Liberty is the only Atlantic Region team to crack the Top 25 this week. Fairmont State (5) and Pitt-Johnstown (2) were listed among the teams also receiving votes.
This is West Liberty's first No. 1 ranking and it's only the second time a West Virginia Conference team has made it to No. 1 since the league transitioned from NAIA to NCAA Division II affiliation during the mid-1990s.
The only other WVIAC team to reach No. 1 was Salem-Teikyo University, which was ranked No. 1 for seven straight weeks during the 1999-00 season. Now Salem International, the school is no longer a WVIAC member.
Fairmont State hit No. 1 in the NAIA poll during the 1968-69 and 1973-74 seasons. No other current WVIAC member has ever reached No. 1 in any national poll.
The Hilltoppers put their unblemished record and No. 1 ranking on the line Thursday night when they hit the road to take on Fairmont State. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m. at Joe Retton Arena.
NABC Division II Men's Basketball
Regular Season Poll No. 8
(Records through games of Sunday, Jan. 9)
W-L Pts Pvs
1. WEST LIBERTY (8) 11-0 200 2
2. Bellarmine, Ky. 13-1 190 4
3. Fort Hays State, Kan. 13-1 181 5
4. Hillsdale, Mich. 13-0 176 6
5. Augusta State, Ga. 12-1 159 3
6. Southern Indiana 13-1 153 8
7. Cal State-Dominguez Hills 11-1 152 10
8. Findlay, Ohio 12-1 144 1
9. Alabama-Huntsville 13-2 132 11
10. Minnesota State 12-1 123 12
11. Lincoln Memorial, Tenn. 12-0 103 14
12. Incarnate Word, Texas 11-1 100 9
13. Grand Valley State, Mich. 12-2 95 15
14. Christian Brothers, Tenn. 13-2 91 16
15. Central Oklahoma 14-2 79 18
16. Tampa, Fla. 14-0 77 25
17. Central Washington 11-2 76 17
18. Kentucky Wesleyan 10-2 65 7
19. West Texas A&M 13-0 61 NR
20. Bentley, Mass. 11-2 60 22
21. Winona State, Minn. 11-2 53 24
22. Missouri Southern 11-1 35 NR
23. Midwestern State, Texas 12-2 21 21
24. Valdosta State, Ga. 13-2 15 NR
25. Alaska-Anchorage 12-3 10 NR
Others receiving votes: Humboldt State (Calif.) 8, Harding (Ark.) 7, Wayne State (Mich.) 7, Winston-Salem State (N.C.) 6, Fairmont State 5, Fort Lewis (Colo.) 4, Saint Anselm (N.H.) 3, Georgia Southwestern 2, Indianapolis (Ind.) 2, Montevallo (Ala.) 2, Pitt-Johnstown 2, Merrimack (Mass.) 1.
