And it will actually end in March!

And news from the Division II home page.

The NCAA announced its 64-team field for this year’s Division II Tournament Sunday night and the two teams that finished the season undefeated could hook up in a national quarterfinal match if they can both win regionals that they will be hosting this weekend.

Findlay, the top seed in the Midwest after finishing the year at 30-0, could square off with No. 2 LIU-C.W. Post (27-0) should the Pioneers win the East title. Findlay will open with defending regional champion Grand Valley State Saturday, while C.W. Post drew Philadelphia in the opening round.

No. 3 BYU-Hawaii and the other teams in the West Regional will start Friday at two sites. BYU-Hawaii hosts Humboldt State in the opener and the winner gets Cal State-Dominguez Hills or Central Washington. The other four teams will go to No. 23 Western Washington with the two sub-regional winners meeting up Tuesday at the home of the highest remaining seed.

The other regional hosts will be No. 4 Augusta State (Southeast), No. 5 Gannon (Atlantic), No. 6 Central Missouri (South Central) — the winner of three straight overtime games to take the MIAA Tournament — No. 12 Southwest Minnesota State (Central) and No. 11 Florida Southern (South). All regional play except for the West Regional begins on Satruday.

Six of the nine host schools are ranked at the top of the final NABC/Division II Coaches Poll that was released Tuesday.

ATLANTIC REGIONAL
March 14, 15 and 17 at Erie, Pa. (Host: Gannon)

Saturday, March 14
#3 Kutztown (26-4) vs. #6 West Virginia State (24-5), 12 p.m., EDT
#2 Virginia Union (21-6) vs. #7 Indiana, Pa. (21-7), 2:30 p.m., EDT
#1 Gannon (27-3) vs. #8 Pittsburgh-Johnstown (24-7), 6 p.m., EDT
#4 Johnson C. Smith (23-7) vs. #5 Alderson-Broaddus (26-5), 8:30 p.m., EDT

Sunday, March 15
Virginia Union/Indiana (Pa.) winner vs. Kutztown/West Virginia State winner, 5 p.m., EDT
Gannon/Pittsburgh-Johnstown winner vs. Johnson C. Smith/Alderson-Broaddus winner, 7:30 p.m., EDT

Tuesday, March 17
Championship game, 7 p.m, EDT

CENTRAL REGIONAL
March 14, 15 and 17 at Marshall, Minn. (Host: Southwest Minnesota State)

Saturday, March 14
#3 Metropolitan State (27-3) vs. #6 Winona State (23-8), 12 p.m., CDT
#2 St. Cloud State (22-8) vs. #7 Augustana (19-9), 2:30 p.m.
#1 Southwest Minnesota State (25-6) vs. #8 Northern State (19-10), 6 p.m., CDT
#4 Minnesota State (25-8) vs. #5 Fort Lewis (24-9), 8:30 p.m., CDT

Sunday, March 15
St. Cloud State/Augustana winner vs. Metropolitan State/Winona State winner, 5 p.m., CDT
Southwest Minnesota State/Northern State winner vs. Minnesota State/Fort Lewis winner, 7:30 p.m, CDT

Tuesday, March 17
Championship game, 7 p.m., CDT

EAST REGIONAL
March 14, 15 and 17 at Brookville, N.Y. (Host: LIU-C.W. Post)

Saturday, March 14
#3 Massachusetts-Lowell (21-7) vs. #6 Merrimack (20-8), 12 p.m., EDT
#2 Bentley (24-6) vs. #7 Bridgeport (22-8), 2:30 p.m., EDT
#1 LIU-C.W. Post (27-0) vs. #8 Philadelphia (25-5), 6 p.m., EDT
#4 Assumption (22-9) vs. #5 Stonehill (21-7), 8:30 p.m., EDT

Sunday, March 15
Bentley/Bridgeport winner vs. Massachusetts-Lowell/Merrimack winner, 5 p.m., EDT
LIU-C.W. Post/Philadelphia winner vs. Assumption/Stonehill winner, 7:30 p.m., EDT

Tuesday, March 17
Championship game, 7 p.m., EDT

MIDWEST REGIONAL
March 14, 15 and 17 at Findlay, Ohio (Host: Findlay)

Saturday, March 14
#3 Northern Kentucky (24-6) vs. Lake Superior State (21-8), 12 p.m., EDT
#2 Bellarmine (24-6) vs. #7 Kentucky Wesleyan (19-8), 2:30 p.m., EDT
#1 Findlay (30-0) vs. #8 Grand Valley State (21-9), 6 p.m., EDT
#4 Southern Indiana (26-6) vs. #5 Rockhurst (19-10), 8:30 p.m., EDT

Sunday, March 15
Bellarmine/Kentucky Wesleyan winner vs. Northern Kentucky/Lake Superior State winner, 5 p.m., EDT Findlay/Grand Valley State winner vs. Southern Indiana/Rockhurst winner, 7:30 p.m., EDT

Tuesday, March 17
Championship game, 7 p.m., EDT

SOUTH REGIONAL
March 14, 15 and 17 at Lakeland, Fla. (Host: Florida Southern)

Saturday, March 14
#2 Christian Brothers (22-6) vs. #7 Delta State (21-8), 12 p.m., EDT
#3 Claflin (24-3) vs. #6 Valdosta State (24-6), 2:30 p.m., EDT
#1 Florida Southern (27-6) vs. #8 LeMoyne-Owen (17-13), 6 p.m., EDT
#4 Arkansas Tech (22-8) vs. #5 Benedict (24-5), 8:30 p.m., EDT

Sunday, March 15
Christian Brothers/Delta State winner vs. Claflin/Valdosta State winner, 5 p.m., EDT
Florida Southern/LeMoyne-Owen winner vs. Arkansas Tech/Benedict winner, 7:30 p.m., EDT

Tuesday, March 17
Championship game, 7 p.m., EDT

SOUTH CENTRAL REGIONAL
March 14, 15 and 17 at Warrensburg, Mo. (Host: Central Missouri)

Saturday, March 14
#3 Central Oklahoma (24-5) vs. #6 Dallas Baptist (23-6), 12 p.m., CDT
#2 Southwest Baptist (24-4) vs. #7 Angelo State (20-8), 2:30 p.m., CDT
#1 Central Missouri (26-4) vs. #8 Texas A&M-Kingsville (19-10), 6 p.m., CDT
#4 Midwestern State (24-6) vs. #5 Incarnate Word (23-6), 8:30 p.m., CDT

Sunday, March 15
Southwest Baptist/Angelo State winner vs. Central Oklahoma/Dallas Baptist winner, 4 p.m., CDT
Central Missouri/Texas A&M-Kingsville winner vs. Midwestern State/Incarnate Word winner, 6:30 p.m., CDT

Tuesday, March 17
Championship game, 7 p.m., CDT

SOUTHEAST REGIONAL
March 14, 15 and 17 at Augusta, Ga. (Host: Augusta State)

Saturday, March 14
#3 Armstrong Atlantic State (23-6) vs. #6 Catawba (21-9), 12 p.m., EDT
#2 South Carolina Aiken (23-7) vs. #7 Lenoir-Rhyne (18-10), 2:30 p.m. EDT
#1 Augusta State (26-4) vs. #8 Tusculum (20-10), 6 p.m., EDT
#4 Georgia College & State (22-6) vs. #5 Barton (24-6), 8:30 p.m., EDT

Sunday, March 15
South Carolina Aiken/Lenoir-Rhyne winner vs. Armstrong Atlantic State/Catawba winner, 5 p.m., EDT
Augusta State/Tusculum winner vs. Georgia College & State/Barton winner, 7:30 p.m., EDT

Tuesday, March 17
Championship game, 7 p.m., EDT

WEST REGIONAL
March 13 & 14 at Laie, Hawaii (Host: BYU-Hawaii) & Bellingham, Wash. (Host: Western Washington)
March 17 at highest remaining seed

Friday, March 13 (at BYU-Hawaii)
#4 Cal State-Dominguez Hills (21-7) vs. #5 Central Washington (18-6), 5 p.m, HDT
#1 BYU-Hawaii (25-1) vs. #8 Humboldt State (20-11), 7:30 p.m., HDT

Friday, March 13 (at Western Washington)
#3 Cal Poly Pomona (20-7) vs. #6 Cal State-San Bernardino (20-9), 5 p.m., PDT
#2 Western Washington (21-5) vs. #7 Seattle Pacific (18-9), 7 p.m., PDT

Saturday, March 14 (at BYU-Hawaii)
BYU-Hawaii/Humboldt State winner vs. Cal State-Dominguez Hills/Central Washington winner, 7:30 p.m., HDT

Saturday, March 14 (at Western Washington)
Western Washington/Seattle Pacific winner vs. Cal Poly Pomona/Cal St.-San Bernardino winner, 7 p.m., PDT

Tuesday, March 17
Championship game, time TBA

ELITE EIGHT
March 25, 26 and 28 at MassMutual Center, Springfield, Mass. (Hosted by American International College & Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame)

Wednesday, March 25
Atlantic Regional winner vs. South Central Regional winner
West Regional winner vs. Central Regional winner
Southeast Regional winner vs. South Regional winner
East Regional winner vs. Midwest Regional winner

Thursday, March 26
Atlantic/South Central winner vs. West/Central winner
Southeast/South winner vs. East/Midwest winner

Saturday, March 28 (National championship game)
National championship game (Televised by CBS-TV)

Post from: EveryJoe

Division II Pairings

NABC Coaches Polls – Division II
Rank School (first place votes) Record
1 Findlay, Ohio (8) 27-0
2 LIU-C.W. Post, N.Y. 24-0
3 BYU-Hawaii 23-1
4 Southwest Baptist, Mo. 24-3
5 Augusta State, Ga. 23-4
6 Gannon, Pa.. 24-3
7 Claflin, S.C. 23-2
8 Central Missouri 23-4
9 Southwest Minnesota State 25-5
10 Central Oklahoma 23-4
11 Metropolitain State, Colo. 24-3
12 Christian Brothers, Tenn. 22-5
13 Southern Indiana 25-5
14 Benedict, S.C. 23-4
15 Northern Kentucky 21-6
16 Alderson-Broaddus, W.Va. 23-4
17 South Carolina Aiken 21-6
18 Bellarmine, Ky. 22-5
19 Bentley, Mass. 24-5
20 Florida Southern 24-6
21 Kutztown, Pa. 24-3
22 West Virginia State 23-4
23 Armstrong Atlantic State, Ga. 22-5
24 Georgia College & State 21-5
25 Winona State, Minn. 22-7

Dropped out: Minnesota State (21), Angelo State (23), Delta State (25).

Others receiving votes: Fort Lewis (Colo.) 6, Minnesota State 6, Cal State-Dominguez Hills 5, Valdosta State (Ga.) 2, Massachusetts-Lowell 1.

Records are through games of March 2, 2009.

Post from: EveryJoe

Latest Division II Rankings

These same teams manage to get in with a sub-par record as a 15 or 16 seed and are gone before we knew they were in there.

Meanwhile, some poor deserving team that did what it was supposed to do during the regular season – win its games, is left for dead or the NIT (aren’t the two one and the same?).

There are so many of these conference tournaments that they look like college football bowl games – too many to count!

The first in this seemingly endless array of tournaments is the Division II Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association or CIAA for all you acronym junkies.

Actually, the tournament got underway last night in Hampton, VA, but it slipped my mind, because I was too busy getting things ready for the wife’s return from a long trip out of the country.

Oh well, better late than never.

Number seven Virginia State defeated No. 10. St. Paul’s College 76-67. No. 9 Fayetteville State edged No. 8 Livingstone 70-67.

Here’s the schedule of games being played today through Saturday. ESPN2 will televise.

Thursday, February 26
#4 Bowie State vs #5 St. Augustine’s, 1:00pm
#2 Elizabeth City State vs #7 Virginia State, 3:00pm
#3 Johnson C. Smith vs #6 Shaw, 7:00pm
#1 Virginia Union vs #9 Fayetteville, 9:00pm

Friday, February 27
Semifinal Game 1, 7:00pm
Semifinal Game 2, 9:00pm

Saturday, February 28
Food Lion Women’s Championship Game, 5:00pm
Ford Men’s Championship Game, 8:00pm

Post from: EveryJoe

It’s Conference Tournament Time

D-II teams set sights on tournaments

(Feb. 24): Conference tournament time is nearing for the majority of the teams in the NCAA Division II ranks – it starts Wednesday in the Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association – and as the last week of the regular season for most teams arrives, two teams still hold undefeated records at the top of the NABC/Division II Coaches Poll.

Findlay (24-0) and LIU-C.W. Post (22-0), the last two undefeated teams in Division II, retained the top two spots in the poll this week while BYU-Hawaii (20-1) stays at No. 3 and Southwest Baptist (22-3) at No. 4. Last week’s fifth-ranked team, Northern Kentucky, was upset at Saint Joseph’s Saturday and allowed Augusta State (21-4) to slide into the fifth spot this week.

Gannon starts the second five and is followed by Central Oklahoma, Christian Brothers, Claflin and Northern Kentucky. South Carolina Aiken is ranked 11th and Central Missouri is 12th, followed conference leaders Bentley, Southwest Minnesota State and Metropolitan State in the next three positions.

Benedict slipped three spots this week to No. 16, followed by Southern Indiana, Alderson-Broaddus, Bellarmine and Winona State. The last five teams in the top 25 this week are Minnesota State, Florida Southern, Angelo State, Kutztown and Delta State. Angelo State was not in the top 25 last week but was in the rankings earlier this year, while Kutztown is in the poll for the first time in the 2008-09 season.

The new NCAA Division II regional rankings will be released Wednesday; last week’s can be found here.

NABC Division II
Coaches Poll
(Feb. 24, 2009)
1. Findlay
2. LIU-C.W. Post
3. BYU-Hawaii
4. Southwest Baptist
5. Augusta State
6. Gannon
7. Central Oklahoma
8. Christian Brothers
9. Claflin
10. Northern Kentucky
11. South Carolina Aiken
12. Central Missouri
13. Bentley
14. Southwest Minn. St.
15. Metropolitan State
16. Benedict
17. Southern Indiana
18. Alderson-Broaddus
19. Bellarmine
20. Winona State
21. Minnesota State
22. Florida Southern
23. Angelo State
24. Kutztown
25. Delta State

Post from: EveryJoe

Latest Division II Rankings

Oilers, Pioneers stay atop rankings

(Feb. 10): Findlay retains the top spot in the NABC/Division II Coaches Poll for this week after recording two home victories and LIU-C.W. Post remains second, but a slight shuffle took place after that after two of the top 10 teams suffered losses last week.

The Oilers (20-0) and Pioneers (18-0) stayed in their places atop the poll, but Central Oklahoma’s loss to Northeastern State dropped the Bronchos seven spots to tenth this week. As a result, a number of teams moved up a spot with BYU-Hawaii (16-1) moving up to third, Gannon (18-2) to fourth and Southwest Baptist (18-3) to No. 5.

Northern Kentucky and Alderson-Broaddus also moved up one spot apiece to sixth and seventh, respectively, while Christian Brothers moved up two spots after South Carolina Aiken’s loss Saturday. Augusta State moved back into the top 10 with that result to No. 9, just ahead of Central Oklahoma.

Central Missouri heads up the second ten, with Benedict, Southern Indiana, Georgia College & State and South Carolina Aiken filling the next four spots. Claflin came in at No. 16 this week, with Minnesota State, Bellarmine, Bentley and Armstrong Atlantic State ounding out the top 20.

The last five in this week’s Top 25 include three teams making their first appearance in the poll this season – No. 21 Virginia Union, No. 23 Metropolitan State and No. 25 Western Washington. Florida Southern dropped two spots to 22nd while Southwest Minnesota State returned to the rankings at No. 24.

The new NCAA Division II regional rankings have also been released, with the top four teams in the national poll holding the top spots in their respective regions. The new regional rankings can be found here.

CBS College Sports Game of the Week — Upcoming games:
Colorado Christian at Metropolitan State (Sat., Feb. 14, 3 p.m. EST)
Northwest Missouri State vs. Central Missouri (Sat., Feb. 21, Noon EST)
Wheeling Jesuit at West Liberty State (Sat., Feb. 28, 3 p.m., EST).

NABC Division II
Coaches Poll
(Feb. 10, 2009)
1. Findlay
2. LIU-C.W. Post
3. BYU-Hawaii
4. Gannon
5. Southwest Baptist
6. Northern Kentucky
7. Alderson-Broaddus
8. Christian Brothers
9. Augusta State
10. Central Oklahoma
11. Central Missouri
12. Benedict
13. Southern Indiana
14. Georgia College & St.
15. South Carolina Aiken
16. Claflin
17. Minnesota State
18. Bellarmine
19. Bentley
20. Armstrong Atlantic St.
21. Virginia Union
22. Florida Southern
23. Metropolitan State
24. Southwest Minn. St.
25. Western Washington

Post from: EveryJoe

Latest Division II Rankings

NABC Coaches Polls – Division II
February 3, 2009
1. Findlay, Ohio (8) 18-0
2. LIU-C.W. Post, N.Y. 16-0
3. Central Oklahoma 18-2
4. BYU-Hawaii 14-1
5. Gannon, Pa. 16-2
6. Southwest Baptist, Mo. 16-3
7. Northern Kentucky 16-4
8. Alderson-Broaddus, W.Va. 16-2
9. South Carolina Aiken 14-4
10. Christian Brothers, Tenn. 17-3
11. Augusta State, Ga. 14-4
12. Central Missouri. 17-3
13. Bellarmine, Ky. 16-3
14. Benedict, S.C. 15-2
15. Armstrong Atl. St., Ga. 15-3
16. Southern Indiana 19-4
17. Georgia College & State 15-2
18. Claflin, S.C. 16-2
19. Winona State, Minn. 17-5
20. Florida Southern 19-4
21. Minnesota State 18-5
22. Arkansas-Monticello 16-4
23. Bentley, Mass. 18-4
24. Stonehill, Mass. 16-4
25. Catawba, N.C. 13-5

Others receiving votes: Western Washington 19, Virginia Union 18, Angelo State (Texas) 15, Grand Valley State (Mich.) 15, Rollins (Fla.) 10, Barton (N.C.) 9, Massachusetts-Lowell 9, St. Edward’s (Texas) 9, Kutztown (Pa.) 5, Valdosta State (Ga.) 4, Delta State (Miss.) 3, North Alabama 2, Pittsburgh-Johnstown (Pa.) 2, Northern State (S.D.) 1, West Liberty State (W.Va.) 1.

Records are through games of Feb. 1, 2009.

Post from: EveryJoe

Latest Division II Rankings

1 Findlay, Ohio (8) 16-0
2 LIU-C.W. Post, N.Y. 14-0
3 Central Oklahoma 17-2
4 BYU-Hawaii 12-1
5 Alderson-Broaddus, W Va. 14-1
6 Gannon, Pa. 14-2
7 Augusta State, Ga. 14-3
8 Bellarmine, Ky. 16-2
9 Southwest Baptist, Mo. 15-3
10 Stonehill, Mass. 16-2
11 Northern Kentucky 14-4
12 Armstrong Atlantic State, Ga. 14-2
13 Minnesota State 17-4
14 South Carolina Aiken 12-4
15 Claflin S.C. 15-1
16 Arkansas-Monticello 15-3
17 Christian Brothers, Tenn. 15-3
18 Centrail Missouri 15-3
19 Southern Indiana 17-4
20 Winona State, Minn. 16-5
21 Benedict, S.C. 12-2
22 Arkansas Tech 14-4
23 Northern State, S.D. 14-4
24 Georgia College & State 13-2
25 Catawba, N.C. 13-5

Others receiving votes: Grand Valley State (Mich.) 8, Florida Southern 7, Virginia Union 7, Valdosta State (Ga.) 6, Fort Lewis (Colo.) 5, Rollins (Fla.) 5, Cal State-Dominguez Hills 4, Angelo State (Texas) 4, Barton (N.C.) 2, Massachusetts-Lowell 2, Augustana (S.D.) 1, Bentley (Mass.) 1.

Records are through games of Jan. 25, 2009.

Post from: EveryJoe

Latest Division II Rankings

Sorry about the quick post.

It’s been a very busy day and it’s not going to lighten up any time soon.

NABC Coaches Polls – Division II
January 20, 2009
Rank School (first place votes) Record Points Previous Rank
1 Findlay, Ohio (8) 14-0, 200, 1
2 LIU-C.W. Post, N.Y. 12-0, 192, 3
3 Central Oklahoma 15-2 184 4
4 Augusta State, Ga. 12-2, 175, 7
5 BYU-Hawaii 11-1, 167, 8
6 Southwest Baptist, Mo. 14-2, 150, 4
7 Alderson-Broaddus, W.Va. 12-1, 133, 15
8 Gannon, Pa. 12-2, 131, 6
9 Bellarmine, Ky. 14-2, 129, 2
10 South Carolina-Aiken 10-3, 123, 10
11 Catawba, N.C. 13-3, 120, 14
12 Christian Brothers, Tenn. 14-2, 102, 17
13 Stonehill, Mass. 14-2, 91, 20
14 Northern Kentucky 12-4, 84, 18
15 Minnesota State 15-4, 82, 9
16 Northern State, S.D. 13-3, 75, 11
17 Arkansas Tech 13-3, 63, 22
18 Armstrong Atlantic State, Ga. 11-2, 55, 25
19 Arkansas-Monticello 13-3, 52, 24
20 Claflin, S.C. 13-1, 48, 23
21 Southern Indiana 15-4, 38, 12
22 Augustana, S.D. 13-3, 31, NR
23 Winona State, Minn. 14-5, 29, 16
24 Central Missouri 13-3, 25, 19
25 Benedict, S.C. 10-2, 18, NR

Others receiving votes: Emporia State (Kan.) 13, Kentucky Wesleyan 13, Missouri Southern 12, Fort Lewis (Colo.) 10, Indiana (Pa.) 9, Barton (N.C.) 8, Valdosta State (Ga.) 8, Cal State-Dominguez Hills 7, Grand Valley State (Mich.) 6, Philadelphia (Pa.) 5, Metropolitan State (Colo.) 4, Central Washington 2, Massachusetts-Lowell 2, Midwestern State (Texas) 1, Virginia Union 1.

Records are through games of Jan. 18, 2009.

Post from: EveryJoe

Latest Division II Poll

Claflin, S.C., Armstrong Atlantic State, Ga. all check into the top 25 this week.

After passing Bobby Knight on the all-time wins list over the weekend, coach Don Meyer and Northern State jump from No. 22 to No. 11.

Findley, Ohio keeps the No. 1 spot.

Rank School (first place votes) Record Points Previous Rank
1 Findlay, Ohio (8) 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-Hawaiii 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.

Post from: EveryJoe

Latest Division II Polls

Again, apologies for still being a bit under the weather.

Latest Division III rankings are on the way.

For the fourth consecutive week, Findlay and South Carolina Aiken head the NABC/Division II Coaches Poll – and for the fourth week in succession, a new team holds the No. 3 spot in the rankings.

While Findlay (7-0) and USC Aiken (6-0) have had a firm grip on their spots in the poll since day one this season, the third spot has been more of a slippery slope. This week, it is 9-0 Southwest Baptist who moves into the third position and it figures to hold that spot for at least another week as the Bearcats are not scheduled to play again until Dec. 29 against this week’s No. 14 team, Missouri Southern.

Gannon moves up a spot to fourth and Central Oklahoma rounds out the top five. Brigham Young-Hawaii, which plays its first game in December on Wednesday against Washburn, is ranked sixth and LIU-C.W. Post also moved up two spots to seventh. The only newcomer in the Top 10 this week, Arkansas-Monticello, is eighth, followed by Catawba and Augusta State, who was third last week before suffering a two-point loss Saturday to Virginia Union.

Minnesota State heads up the second 10, followed by Central Washington, Kentucky Wesleyan, Missouri

Southern and Pittsburgh-Johnstown. The next five spots are dominated by teams from the Great Lakes Valley and Gulf South Conferences, with Ouachita Baptist at No. 16, GLVC members Northern Kentucky and Bellarmine in the next two spots and No. 20 Valdosta State. No. 19. Saint Martin’s is the only team in that group from outside those two conferences.

The three newcomers in this week’s poll hold the last three spots, headed by Northern State at No. 23; the Wolves’ victory over then-No. 6 Minnesota State was the 900th collegiate coaching victory for head coach Don Meyer.

All records are through games of Sunday, Dec. 14. The next poll will be released on Tuesday, Dec. 23.

Team, Record, Points
1. Findlay (8 first place votes) 7-0, 200 points
2. South Carolina Aiken 6-0, 182
3. Southwest Baptist 9-0, 180
4. Gannon 4-0, 175
5. Central Oklahoma 8-1, 168
6. Brigham Young-Hawaii 3-0, 132
7. LIU-C.W. Post 5-0, 131
8. Arkansas-Monticello 9-0, 130
9. Catawba 8-1, 129
10. Augusta State 4-1, 128
11. Minnesota State 9-2, 105
12. Central Washington 5-1, 96
13. Kentucky Wesleyan 8-1, 93
14. Missouri Southern 9-0, 92
15. Pittsburgh-Johnstown 6-1, 75
16. Ouachita Baptist 9-1, 73
17. Northern Kentucky 6-2, 70
18. Bellarmine 6-0, 65
19. Saint Martin’s 10-2, 59
20. Valdosta State 9-1, 51
21. Grand Valley State 6-2, 41
22. Southern Indiana 10-2, 33
23. Northern State 9-1, 25
24. Harding 8-1, 21
25. Angelo State 7-0, 19

Others receiving votes: Johnson C. Smith (N.C.) 15, West Liberty State (W.Va.) 15, Claflin (S.C.) 11, Augustana (S.D.) 10, Nebraska-Omaha 10, Dallas Baptist (Texas) 9, Edinboro (Pa.) 9, North Alabama 8, Western Washington 8, Elizabeth City State (N.C.) 6, North Georgia 6, Stonehill (Mass.) 5, Saint Anselm (N.H.) 4, Clayton State (Ga.) 3, Benedict (S.C.) 2, Hillsdale (Mich.) 2, Merrimack (Mass.) 2, Ashland (Ohio) 1, Francis Marion (S.C.) 1.

Post from: EveryJoe

Latest Division II Rankings