Men's Basketball | 11/24/2020 2:14:00 PM

    With the NCAA Division II basketball season having already tipped off in some parts of the country, the West Liberty University men's basketball team has popped up near the top of two more preseason polls.
    Coach Ben Howlett's Hilltoppers – who are well into preparations for their January season opener – were ranked No. 6 nationally in the Division II Sports Information Directors of America (D2SIDA) Preseason Media Poll and checked in at No. 2 in the D2SIDA Atlantic Region Preseason Media Poll.
    Both polls were conducted prior to the announcement that the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference would not be conducting championships in men's and women's basketball for the 2020-21 season due to COVID-19 issues.
    Northwest Missouri State and Lincoln Memorial (Tenn.) were ranked 1-2 in the final national poll of the 2019-20 season and that's where both programs start out this year. West Texas A&M, the only team to beat Lincoln Memorial a year ago, is No. 3 followed by Florida Southern and defending PSAC champion Indiana (Pa.).
    West Liberty, which has won three straight Mountain East Conference titles and is coming off a sweep of the MEC regular-season and tournament crowns a year ago, is at No. 6 with Azusa Pacific, St. Thomas Aquinas, Nova Southeastern and Queens (N.C.) rounding out the Top 10.
    The Hilltoppers don't have an easy path to a fourth consecutive MEC championship as Charleston, last season's MEC runner-up, is ranked 18^th in the D2SIDA national poll with perennial challenger Fairmont State just missing the Top 25, leading the pack of teams also receiving votes.
    The PSAC has given its members the option to play outside the conference structure but most schools have opted to remain on the sidelines this winter, which will certainly have an impact on future national and regional polls.
    West Liberty was a close second behind Indiana (Pa.) in the D2SIDA regional voting with Charleston and Fairmont State tied for third. Shippensburg and Mercyhurst were No. 5 and No. 6, respectively, followed by defending CIAA champion Virginia State, Fayetteville State, West Virginia State and Pitt-Johnstown. Johnson C. Smith, Bowie State, East Stroudsburg, Edinboro and Winston-Salem State also received votes in the regional balloting.
    The MEC and CIAA have each announced plans for a 16-game regular-season schedule with no non-conference games. The schedules will run from early January through late February leading up to a conference championship tournament. The CIAA slate is set to tip off its season on Jan. 9 while the MEC is still finalizing its playing dates.
    The first regular season D2SIDA polls will be released in January.
       Team (FPV)                                                 Rec          Pts       Pvs
  1. NW Missouri State (13)                         396        31-1           1
  2. Lincoln Memorial (2)                              378        32-1           2
  3. West Texas A&M (1)                              364        32-1           4
  4. Florida Southern                                     342        29-2           5
  5. Indiana (Pa.)                                             338        28-2           6
  6. WEST LIBERTY                                         289        27-4         10
  7. Azusa Pacific                                            285        25-4           8
  8. St. Thomas Aquinas                                253        25-5         14
  9. Nova Southeastern                                 247        23-6         12
10. Queens (N.C.)                                          238        24-7         15
11. Ferris State                                               229        27-6         23
12. Northern State                                        217        26-6         RV
13. Missouri-St. Louis                                   209        27-6         17
14. Valdosta State                                         158        26-4         13
15. St. Edward's                                             130        27-4           7
16. Alabama-Huntsville                                114        26-5         22
17. Angelo State                                            109        20-8         RV
18. CHARLESTON                                           103        25-6         21
19. Cal Poly-Pomona                                     101        23-7         25
20. Point Loma                                                 93        24-6         RV
21. Indianapolis                                                88        24-6         11
22. UNC-Pembroke                                          75        24-6         20
23. Saint Anselm                                              62        21-8            -
24. Colorado School of Mines                       59     22-10            -
25. Missouri Southern                                    58        23-8         RV
       Also receiving votes: FAIRMONT STATE 43; Augustana (S.D.) 35; Bridgeport 32; Southern Indiana 31; Truman State 13; Henderson State 11; Chico State 10; Daemen 10; Sioux Falls 10