1. KANSAS CITY, Mo. – While most sports fans have
their eyes on the Super Bowl this weekend, one of the
best weeks of games this season is on tap as the top
four teams and six of the top eight will face other
ranked teams in the latest top 25 of the
NABC/Division II rankings.
Augustana remains atop the poll for the second week
in a row and on its slate this week is a road game
Saturday against No. 8 MSU Moorhead in a clash of
division leaders in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate
Conference.
Second-ranked Fairmont State has two ranked teams
awaiting it this week, beginning Thursday when it
hosts No. 6 West Liberty. Two days later, the Falcons
head to the road to take on No. 4 Wheeling Jesuit.
Western Oregon, who moved up a spot to third, has a
road matchup Saturday at No. 19 Seattle Pacific.
Lincoln Memorial follows Wheeling Jesuit in the
rankings and while it won’t face a top 25 team, LMU
does have a road date Saturday at Wingate, a team
that received votes this week and who already owns
two wins over top-10 teams this season.
Following West Liberty in this week’s poll is Saint
Anselm, with MSU Moorhead, Bellarmine and UC San
Diego rounding out the top 10.
Midwestern State dropped to 11th
this week, while
fellow Lone Star Conference foe Angelo State comes
in at No. 12. Queens (N.C.) is 13th
, followed by Chico
State and Fort Lewis.
Eckerd checks in at No. 16, followed by Sunshine
State Conference rival Barry, Cal Poly Pomona,
Seattle Pacific and West Chester.
Seattle Pacific, who returned to the top 25 this week
heading into its matchup with Western Oregon, is one
of four teams from outside the top 25 a week ago that
made it in the latest rankings.
Saginaw Valley State makes its first appearance of
the year at No. 21, with Kentucky Wesleyan,
Wisconsin-Parkside and two other returners to the
rankings, Northwest Missouri State and Ashland
rounding out this week’s poll.
Among this week’s top games:
#11 Midwestern State at Tarleton State, Wednesday
#21 Saginaw Valley St. at Lake Superior St., Thurs.
#6 West Liberty at #2 Fairmont State, Thursday
#1 Augustana at #8 MSU Moorhead, Saturday
#2 Fairmont State at #4 Wheeling Jesuit, Saturday
#5 Lincoln Memorial at Wingate, Saturday
#3 Western Oregon at #19 Seattle Pacific, Saturday
NABC/Division II Rankings
(Feb. 2, 2016 – Poll #10)
Record Points Last
1. Augustana, S.D. (15) 19-1 399 1
2. Fairmont State, W.Va. (1) 19-1 381 2
3. Western Oregon 18-2 366 4
4. Wheeling Jesuit, W.Va. 20-1 354 5
5. Lincoln Memorial, Tenn. 18-2 319 7
6. West Liberty, W.Va. 18-2 315 8
7. Saint Anselm. N.H. 17-2 298 9
8. MSU Moorhead 22-3 276 3
9. Bellarmine, Ky. 17-3 274 11
10. UC San Diego 17-3 246 12
11. Midwestern State, Texas 16-3 219 6
12. Angelo State, Texas 16-3 208 14
13. Queens, N.C. 17-2 207 15
14. Chico State, Calif. 16-3 184 16
15. Fort Lewis, Colo. 17-3 170 20
16. Eckerd, Fla. 18-3 157 10
17. Barry, Fla. 15-3 137 24
18. Cal Poly Pomona 16-4 117 13
19. Seattle Pacific, Wash. 16-4 99 NR
20. West Chester, Pa. 17-3 88 17
21. Saginaw Valley State, Mich. 16-4 74 NR
22. Kentucky Wesleyan 17-3 73 18
23. Wisconsin-Parkside 16-3 68 21
24. Northwest Missouri State 15-5 37 NR
25. Ashland, Ohio 16-4 23 NR
Others receiving votes: Ferris State (Mich.) 20, Alabama-
Huntsville 18, Southern Connecticut State 11, California
Baptist 10, Tarleton State (Texas) 9, Wingate (N.C.) 9, Lake
Superior State (Mich.) 6, Bentley (Mass.) 5, Indianapolis (Ind.)
5, Lander (S.C.) 5, Findlay (Ohio) 4, Azusa Pacific (Calif.) 1,
Stillman (Ala.) 1.
Records are through games of Sunday, Jan. 31, 2016.
Dropped out: Azusa Pacific (19), Tarleton State (22),
California Baptist (23), Ferris State (25).
National Association of Basketball Coaches
NCAA Division II Men’s Basketball Rankings
2015-16 Rankings – Feb. 2, 2016 (Poll #10)