The Rams (4-0) are ranked No. 23 in the first National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) NCAA Division II poll which was released on Tuesday and comes with the team outscoring their opponents by a 34.2 scoring margin through the first four games of the season. ASU was receiving votes in the preseason poll and enters the NABC poll for the 11th time in program history.
1. National Association of Basketball Coaches
NCAA Division II Men’s Basketball Rankings
2014-15 Rankings – Nov. 25, 2014 (Poll #1)
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The top three teams in the
NABC/Division II pre-season hold those same three
spots in the first regular season poll, led by No. 1-
ranked West Liberty.
The Hilltoppers received 12 of the 16 first place votes
to hold onto the top spot, while Southern Connecticut
State and Metropolitan State hold the next two
positions. The first change comes at No. 4, where
Drury moved up two spots to fourth and has Great
Lakes Valley Conference rival Bellarmine right in back
of it at No. 5.
Florida Southern checks in at No. 6 this week,
followed by Indiana (Pa.), Tarleton State, Colorado-
Colorado Springs and defending national champion
Central Missouri, who moved from being unranked in
the pre-season all the way to No. 10 in the first
regular season ranking.
California Baptist – who got a first place vote this
week – comes in at No. 11, while Chico State and
Lincoln Memorial took the next two spots. The
highest ranked team with a loss this week is
Minnesota State – the loss coming in the season
opener to Central Missouri – as the Mavericks are
ranked 14th this week.
East Stroudsburg is at No. 15, followed by Cal Poly
Pomona, Dixie State and Christian Brothers. The top
20 is rounded out by Augustana and GRU Augusta.
This week’s final five teams are Delta State, Findlay
and top 25 newcomers Angelo State, Barry and
Alabama-Huntsville.
The next regular season poll will be released Dec. 2.
NABC/Division II Rankings
(Nov. 25, 2014 – Poll #1)
Record Points Last
1. West Liberty, W.Va. (12) 4-0 392 1
2. Southern Connecticut St. 5-0 375 2
3. Metropolitan State, Colo. (3) 4-0 372 3
4. Drury, Mo. 2-0 336 7
5. Bellarmine, Ky. 3-0 330 10
6. Florida Southern 2-0 322 9
7. Indiana, Pa. 4-0 268 15
8. Tarleton State, Texas 3-0 266 12
9. Colo.-Colorado Springs 4-0 232 18
10. Central Missouri 4-0 206 NR
11. California Baptist (1) 4-0 192 24
12. Chico State, Calif. 2-0 182 19
13. Lincoln Memorial, Tenn. 4-0 176 23
14. Minnesota State 3-1 151 7
15. East Stroudsburg, Pa. 3-1 148 4
16. Cal Poly Pomona 2-1 141 8
17. Dixie State, Utah 1-0 110 25
18. Christian Brothers, Tenn. 2-0 99 NR
19. Augustana, S.D. 5-0 95 NR
20. GRU Augusta 3-0 89 NR
21. Delta State, Miss. 2-1 83 13
22. Findlay, Ohio 1-1 76 16
23. Angelo State, Texas 4-0 57 NR
24. Barry, Fla. 2-0 53 NR
25. Alabama-Huntsville 5-0 50 NR
Others receiving votes: Lewis (Ill.) 47, Western Washingotn
43, Michigan Tech 31, Indianapolis (Ind.) 29, Minnesota State-
Moorhead 27, BYU-Hawaii 22, Newberry (S.C.) 20, UC San
Diego 18, Mount Olive (N.C.) 14, Point Loma Nazarene
(Calif.) 14, Stonehill (Mass.) 14, Fort Lewis (Colo.) 12,
Colorado School of Mines 11, Northern State (S.D.) 11, Saint
Anselm (N.H.) 11, Cal State-Stanislaus 10, Midwestern State
(Texas) 10, Florida Tech 8, Grand Valley State (Mich.) 8,
Chaminade (Hawaii) 6, South Carolina Aiken 5, Northwest
Missouri State 4, UNC Pembroke 3, Seattle Pacific (Wash.) 2,
Wisconsin-Parkside 2, Columbus State (Ga.) 3, Fort Hays
State (Kan.) 1, LeMoyne (N.Y.) 1, Tuskegee (Ala.) 1, Walsh
(Ohio) 1.
Dropped out: Montevallo (5), Western Washington (11),
Philadelphia (14), Lewis (17), South Carolina Aiken (20), Saint
Anselm (21), Seattle Pacific (22).
Records are through games of Sunday, Nov. 23, 2014.