KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The West Liberty University men's basketball team will head into this weekend's NCAA Division II Atlantic Regional as the No. 18-ranked team in the nation after the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) released its final weekly poll on Tuesday afternoon.
    Coach Ben Howlett's Hilltoppers (15-4) will have plenty of Top 25 company when the Atlantic Region tournament tips off on Saturday inside the ASRC as five of the six regional teams finished in the Top 25 with all six receiving votes.
    Joining the Black and Gold in the Atlantic Regional field are No. 3 Mercyhurst (11-0), which received four of the 16 first-place votes; No. 9 Hillsdale (20-2); No. 15 Charleston (14-3) and No. 20 Fairmont State (15-4). The Falcons snapped West Liberty's 11-game winning streak on Sunday with a 102-99 victory in the championship game of the Mountain East Conference Tournament.
    The Hilltoppers are the No. 3 seed in this weekend's event and will take on No. 6 seed Malone (17-6) in one of Saturday's quarterfinal matchups. Pairings and ticketing information will be announced Tuesday afternoon.
       Team (FPV)                                                 Rec          Pts       Pvs
  1. Colorado Mesa (8)                                 21-1         385           4
  2. Northern State (2) (S.D.)                      18-1         374           6
  3. MERCYHURST (4)                                  11-0         355           3
  4. NW Missouri State (2)                          23-2         348           1
  5. West Texas A&M                                   15-2         339           8
  6. Colorado School of Mines                    16-2         302           5
  7. Truman State (Mo.)                               18-2         291           2
  8. Flagler (Fla.)                                            15-2         282         10
  9. HILLSDALE                                               20-2         267           9
10. Lubbock Christian (Texas)                    17-2         242           7
11. St. Thomas Aquinas (N.Y.)                   13-1         224         15
12. Alabama Huntsville                               14-3         215         11
13. Lincoln Memorial (Tenn.)                    16-3         212         13
14. Valdosta State (Ga.)                              17-4         181         21
15. CHARLESTON                                         14-3         164         12
16. Dallas Baptist (Texas)                           16-4         127         16
17. Washburn (Kan.)                                   19-6         110        NR
18. WEST LIBERTY                                        15-4         105         19
19. Belmont Abbey (N.C.)                           18-4         103        NR
20. FAIRMONT STATE                                 15-4           94        NR
21. Arkansas Monticello                             16-4           86        NR
22. Queens (N.C.)                                         16-5           82         17
23. Carson-Newman (Tenn.)                      16-5           63        NR
24. Point Loma (Calif.)                                   8-2           61         18
25. Lee (Tenn.)                                              14-5           60         23
     Others receiving votes: Texas A&M-Kingsville 56, Northwest Nazarene (Idaho) 22, Southern Indiana 20, FINDLAY 11, Biola (Calif.) 10, Michigan Tech 8, Oklahoma Baptist 1.