NDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – The West Liberty University men’s basketball team has been ranked No. 1 in the nation for the past six weeks so it was no surprise to find the Hilltoppers sitting atop this week’s NCAA Division II Atlantic Region rankings.
It’s the same spot West Liberty has occupied since the first set of regional rankings were released last month and the undefeated Hilltoppers appear to have opened up a significant gap over their closest pursuers as every other Atlantic Region team has three or more in-region losses.
Bowie State (Md.) remained No. 2 when the NCAA Division II Men’s Basketball Ranking Committee released this week’s rankings Wednesday afternoon but the rest of the pack received a bit of a shuffle.
Mercyhurst (Pa.) moved up to No. 3 from last week’s No. 4 spot while defending regional champion Indiana (Pa.) – barely hanging on at No. 10 two weeks ago – jumped from No. 6 to No. 4 in this week’s ranking. Winston-Salem State (N.C.) dropped two spots from No. 3 to round out the top five.
Mansfield (Pa.) also made a big move this week, rising from No. 9 to No. 6. Fairmont State stayed put at No. 7 while West Virginia State fell from No. 5 to No. 8.
Alderson-Broaddus saw its streak of 9 consecutive regional tournament bids placed in jeopardy when it slipped to No. 9. Shaw (N.C.) made its regional ranking debut this week at No. 10.
West Liberty, which clinched its second consecutive West Virginia Conference championship earlier this week with an 86-66 win at Alderson-Broaddus, hosts West Virginia State on Thursday. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m. at the ASRC.
The regional rankings will be released each Wednesday through March 2. The top 8 teams in the final set of regional rankings earn bids to the NCAA Division II Atlantic Regional tournament, which will be hosted by the No. 1 team.
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