KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The West Liberty University men’s basketball team moved back into the Top 10 Tuesday afternoon when the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) released this week’s NCAA Division II Top 25 poll.
Coach Jim Crutchfield’s Hilltoppers (8-1) moved up two spots to No. 9 after being ranked No. 11 in last week’s national balloting.
West Liberty, which was ranked No. 1 in the nation for much of the 2010-11 season, opened the current campaign at No. 6 in the coaches’ preseason poll but dropped to No. 14 two weeks ago with an overtime loss to then No. 7-ranked Findlay, Ohio.
The Hilltoppers moved up to No. 11 last week on the strength of three straight wins and cinched their return to the Top 10 this week with a 93-90 victory at West Virginia Wesleyan on Sunday afternoon.
This marks the 27th consecutive week that West Liberty has 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.
Metropolitan State of Denver (9-0) took over the No. 1 spot in this week’s poll after last week’s No. 1 team, Missouri Southern, was upset at Missouri Western. Southern Indiana (8-0) is No. 2 with Lincoln Memorial, Tenn. (10-0), Kentucky Wesleyan (7-0) and defending national champion Bellarmine, Ky. (8-1) rounding out the top five.
Colorado School of Mines (7-0) bumps up to No. 6 with Missouri Southern (10-1) falling all the way to No. 7. Humboldt State, Calif. (6-1), the Hilltoppers and Rollins, Fla. (7-0) round out this week’s Top 10.
West Liberty, which has now won 54 of its last 55 regular season games, closes out its first semester schedule in Florida this weekend at the St. Petersburg Sports Alliance Classic. The Hilltoppers play at Saint Leo Saturday at 2 p.m. before making the 60-mile drive to St. Petersburg on Sunday for a 2 p.m. game against tournament host Eckerd.
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