KANSAS CITY, Mo. (Jan. 13, 2009)--The Bellarmine Knights men's basketball team moved up to the No. 2 spot in the latest National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Division II poll released this afternoon. The No. 2 ranking is the highest in the history of Bellarmine basketball.
Unbeaten Findlay (12-0) remains atop the poll for the seventh consecutive week, while the other two undefeated teams remaining in NCAA Division II took the next two spots in this week's rankings.
Bellarmine, whose last three victories have been over ranked teams by at least 14 points, vaulted past LIU-C.W. Post (9-0) and Central Oklahoma (13-2) to the No. 2 spot this week. The Knights, 14-0 on the season, replaced Southwest Baptist in the second spot after the Bearcats suffered their first loss of the year at Washburn last week. SBU (13-1) comes into this week at No. 5 behind the four aforementioned squads.
Gannon moved up one spot to sixth in the new poll, followed by Augusta State, BYU-Hawaii, Minnesota State and South Carolina Aiken round out this week's top 10.
The second ten is headed by Northern State, who got head coach Don Meyer his 903rd career coaching win Saturday to pass Bob Knight for the all-time lead among NCAA men's basketball coaches. Southern Indiana dropped four spots to No. 12 this week, with Missouri Southern, Catawba and poll newcomer Alderson-Broaddus rounding out the top 15.
Defending national champion Winona State, winners of nine straight games, moved back into the rankings this week at No. 16, followed by Christian Brothers, Northern Kentucky, Central Missouri and Stonehill, the current leader in the Northeast-10 Conference.
NABC/Division II Coaches Poll (Jan. 13, 2009)
Record Points Pvs
1. Findlay, Ohio (8 first place votes) 12-0 200 1
2. Bellarmine, Ky. 14-0 188 5
3. LIU-C.W. Post, N.Y. 9-0 183 3
4. Central Oklahoma 13-2 177 4
5. Southwest Baptist, Mo. 13-1 165 2
6. Gannon, Pa. 11-1 160 7
7. Augusta State, Ga. 10-2 152 10
8. BYU-Hawaii 9-1 149 9
9. Minnesota State 14-3 131 6
10. South Carolina Aiken 9-3 118 11
11. Northern State, S.D. 12-2 111 22
12. Southern Indiana 15-3 102 8
13. Missouri Southern 15-2 86 12
14. Catawba, N.C. 11-3 75 23
15. Alderson-Broaddus, W.Va. 9-1 55 NR
16. Winona State, Minn. 13-4 53 NR
17. Christian Brothers, Tenn. 12-2 50 NR
18. Northern Kentucky 10-4 46 19
19. Central Missouri 12-2 43 NR
20. Stonehill, Mass. 12-2 40 NR
21. Grand Valley State, Mich. 9-3 37 15
22. Arkansas Tech 11-3 32 17
23. Claflin, S.C. 12-1 31 NR
24. Arkansas-Monticello 11-3 30 14
25. Armstrong Atlantic State, Ga. 10-2 23 NR
Others receiving votes: Kentucky Wesleyan 20, Saint Martin's (Wash.) 16, Valdosta State (Ga.) 16, Mercyhurst (Pa.) 15, Florida Southern 14, Benedict (S.C.) 11, Georgia College & State 11, Johnson C. Smith (N.C.) 10, Humboldt State (Calif.) 9, Clayton State (Ga.) 7, Minnesota-Duluth 6, Rollins (Fla.) 6, Fort Lewis (Colo.) 5, Angelo State (Texas) 1, Ashland (Ohio) 1, Merrimack (Mass.) 1, Seattle Pacific (Wash.) 1.
Records are through games of Jan. 11, 2009.