KANSAS CITY, Mo. – It's déjà vu all over again in the NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Top 25 poll as the top two teams in last season's final Top 25 rankings have taken over the top two spots in this week's national balloting conducted by the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC).

West Liberty, last year's No. 1-ranked squad, moved up to No. 2 for the first time this season after extending its winning streak to 14 games with a pair of impressive victories last week.

Defending national champion Bellarmine, Ky. (16-1), which finished second in last year's final Top 25 behind the Hilltoppers, opened the season at No. 1 and recaptured the top spot in this week's voting after a three-win week.

Kentucky Wesleyan (15-2), last week's No. 1-ranked team, tumbled all the way to No. 7 this week after taking its first two losses of the season.

Metropolitan State, Colo. (17-1), Tarleton State, Texas (16-1), and Lincoln Memorial, Tenn. (17-1) round out the top five in this week's voting, which includes games through Sunday.

Coach Jim Crutchfield's Hilltoppers continued their rise through the rankings by hammering Seton Hill, 106-76, and rolling past West Virginia Wesleyan, 89-76, a week ago. West Liberty got its current week off to a good start Monday night with a 108-87 romp at Davis & Elkins.

This marks the 32nd 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. Alderson-Broaddus was the only other WVIAC team receiving votes this week but the Battlers – who were upset at home by Wheeling Jesuit on Monday night – fell short of the Top 25.

The two-time defending WVIAC champion Hilltoppers head back out on the WVIAC road Thursday night with a 7:30 p.m. game at Bluefield State. They'll finish off their southern swing on Saturday with a 4 p.m. game at Concord.

NABC DIVISION II TOP 25

Men's Basketball

(Jan. 24, 2012)

Team Rec Pts Pvs

1. Bellarmine, Ky.  (8) 16-1 200 2

2. WEST LIBERTY 16-1 190 3

3. Metropolitan State, Colo. 17-1 184 4

4. Tarleton State, Texas 16-1 178 5

5. Lincoln Memorial, Tenn. 17-1 161 6

6. Winona State, Minn. 17-2 157 8

7. Kentucky Wesleyan 15-2 146 1

8. Southern Indiana 15-2 140 7

9. Northern Kentucky 15-2 129 9

10. Midwestern State, Texas 15-1 128 13

11. Colorado School of Mines 15-2 126 12

12. Alabama-Huntsville 14-3 112 15

13. St. Cloud State, Minn. 15-2 101 17

14. Missouri Southern 16-3 95 16

15. Christian Brothers, Tenn. 14-3 86 11

16. Indiana, Pa. 13-3 78 10

17. Shaw, N.C. 15-2 64 23

18. Western Washington 17-3 51 22

19. Bowie State, Md. 13-3 46 21

20. Hillsdale, Mich. 15-2 45 14

21. Indianapolis, Ind. 14-3 35 NR

22. West Georgia 17-3 34 NR

23. Fort Hays State, Kan. 13-4 24 25

24. South Carolina-Aiken 13-3 21 19

25. Alaska-Anchorage 13-4 13 NR

       Others receiving votes: Minnesota State-Moorhead 11, Arkansas-Monticello 9, Winston-Salem State (N.C.) 9, Adelphi (N.Y.) 6, Montevallo (Ala.) 5, NW Missouri State 5, Alderson-Broaddus 4, C.W. Post (N.Y.) 2, Anderson (S.C.) 1, Bemidji State (Minn.) 1, Bentley (Mass.) 1, Florida Tech 1, Missouri-St. Louis 1.