NABC & Basketball Times Release Men's Basketball DII Preseason Rankings & Top 25 All-America Team
Defending national champion Bellarmine, who returns two
All-America performers from a team that captured its first NCAA
Division II title last March, comes into the upcoming 2011-12
season as the nation's top-ranked team in both the NABC/DII and
Basketball Times preseason polls. Queens was ranked in both
polls and two conference players were selected for Basketball Times
All-America Team.
NOTE: Listed below the NABC/Division II pre-season
rankings are Basketball Times Rankings along with their preseason
All-America Team.
KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Defending national champion Bellarmine, who
returns two All-America performers from a team that captured its
first NCAA Division II title last March, comes into the upcoming
2011-12 season as the nation's top-ranked team in the NABC/Division
II men's basketball pre-season coaches poll.
The Knights, who posted a 33-2 record and knocked off BYU-Hawaii in
a thrilling championship game a year ago, were a unanimous pick for
the No. 1 spot in the poll as they return All-America guards Jeremy
Kendle and Braydon Hobbs. Bellarmine was followed in the
pre-season rankings by two other teams that played in the Elite
Eight a year ago, Alabama-Huntsville and BYU-Hawaii, which returns
the Elite Eight's Most Outstanding Player in Jet Chang.
Two defending conference champions, Missouri Southern and Lincoln
Memorial, took the next two spots in the pre-season poll, followed
by last year's final No. 1-ranked team, West Liberty. The
Hilltoppers will have to replace a talented starting lineup, but
still figures to be a force with their fast-paced style of
play.
Findlay is ranked seventh in the pre-season poll, followed by
Tarleton State, Bowie State and Metropolitan State. Central
Oklahoma, who is playing as an NCAA Division II independent this
season, begins the second 10 at No. 11, meaning that the first 11
spots in the poll are occupied by teams from 10 different
conferences and the independent ranks. Southern Indiana broke
that run as the second team from the Great Lakes Valley Conference
in the poll as the Screaming Eagles are ranked No. 12, with the
next three spots being held by Benedict, Humboldt State and
Kentucky Wesleyan.
Augustana is ranked No. 16 in the pre-season poll, followed by
Alaska-Anchorage, Colorado School of Mines, Indiana (Pa.) and Saint
Rose. The last five spots are held by Georgia Southwestern,
Seattle Pacific, Massachusetts-Lowell, Arkansas Tech and Queens
(N.C.). The 2011-12 season gets underway this weekend with
the Disney/Division II Classic in Anaheim, Calif., featuring UC San
Diego, Chestnut Hill, Dominican (Calif.) and Western
Washington.
NABC/Division II Coaches Poll (Nov. 1, 2011 - Pre-Season
Poll)
Record Points Pvs
1. Bellarmine, Ky. (8 first place votes) 33-2 200 2
2. Alabama-Huntsville 29-5 187 7
3. BYU-Hawaii 22-9 179 NR
4. Missouri Southern 26-5 166 9
5. Lincoln Memorial, Tenn. 27-3 153 10
6. West Liberty, W.Va. 33-1 142 1
7. Findlay, Ohio 24-4 130 NR
8. Tarleton State, Texas 24-6 124 17
9. Bowie State, Md. 23-6 121 19
10. Metropolitan State, Colo. 22-8 118 NR
11. Central Oklahoma 30-4 112 4
12. Southern Indiana 24-6 105 12
13. Benedict, S.C. 21-8 100 24
14. Humboldt State, Calif. 26-4 73 6
15. Kentucky Wesleyan 19-10 72 NR
16. Augustana, S.D. 18-9 69 NR
17. Alaska-Anchorage 24-10 68 NR
18. Colorado School of Mines 25-6 61 20
19. Indiana, Pa. 26-6 57 21
20. Saint Rose, N.Y. 22-9 50 NR
21. Georgia Southwestern 20-9 48 NR
22. Seattle Pacific, Wash. 20-10 40 NR
23. Massachusetts-Lowell 20-10 28 NR
24. Arkansas Tech 25-6 22 14
25. Queens, N.C. 21-8 20 NR
Others receiving votes: Winona State (Minn.) 18, LIU-C.W. Post
(N.Y.) 17, Limestone (S.C.) 15, Hillsdale (Mich.)
11, Central Missouri 10, Montevallo (Ala.) 10, Rollins (Fla.) 10,
Christian Brothers (Tenn.) 8, Bentley (Mass.) 7, Cal Poly Pomona 7,
Grand Valley State (Mich.) 7, West Texas A&M 7, Clayton State
(Ga.), Florida Southern 5, Northern Kentucky 5, Drury (Mo.) 4,
Harding (Ark.) 4, Fort Hays State (Kan.) 3, Bloomfield (N.J.)
2.
Records and previous rankings are final from the 2010-11
season. The first regular season poll will be released on
Tuesday, Nov. 29.
Basketball Times: NCAA Division II Top 20
1. Bellarmine, Ky.
(33-2)
2. Lincoln Memorial,
Tenn. (27-3)
3. West Liberty, W. Va.
(33-1)
4. Alabama-Huntsville
(29-5)
5. BYU-Hawaii (22-9)
6. Benedict, S.C.
(21-8)
7. Missouri Southern
State (26-5)
8. Augustana, S.D.
(18-9)
9. Metropolitan State,
Colo. (22-8)
10. UMass.-Lowell (20-10)
11. Bowie State, N.C. (23-6)
12. Saint Rose, N.Y. (22-9)
13. Findlay, O. (24-4)
14. Georgia Southwestern (20-9)
15. Queens, N.C. (21-8)
16. Clayton State, Ga. (19-10)
17. Montevallo, Ala. (19-11)
18. Humboldt State. Calif. (26-4)
19. Kentucky Wesleyan (19-10)
20. Central Oklahoma (30-4)
NCAA DIVISION II
TOP 25 ALL-AMERICA TEAM
Jason Adams, Missouri Southern
State
6-5 Sr.
Stefan Bonneau, C.W. Post
(N.Y.)
5-10 Sr.
Phillip Brown, Georgia
Southwestern
6-7 Sr.
Zane Campbell,
Alabama-Huntsville
6-8 Jr.
Jet Chang,
BYU-Hawaii
6-3 Sr.
Jarrell Douglass, Limestone
(S.C.)
6-5 Sr.
Reggie Evans, Metropolitan State
(Colo.)
6-4 Sr.
Marcus Goode, Benedict
(S.C.)
6-10 Jr.
Patrick Grubbs, Pitt.-Johnstown
(Pa.)
6-8 Sr.
Rob Gutierrez, Saint Rose
(N.Y.)
6-0 Sr.
Ali Haidar, Michigan
Tech
6-7 Jr.
Cedric Harris, West Liberty (W.
Va.)
6-0 Soph.
Braydon Hobbs, Bellarmine
(Ky.)
6-5 Sr.
Randy Hunter, Humboldt State
(Calif.)
6-6 Sr.
Travis Hyman, Bowie State
(N.C.)
7-0 Sr.
Desmond Johnson, Lincoln Memorial
(Tenn.)
6-6 Sr.
Jeremy Kendle, Bellarmine
(Ky.)
6-2 Jr.
Josh Magette,
Alabama-Huntsville
6-1
Sr.
Cameron McCaffrey, Augustana
(S.D.)
6-1 Jr.
Trevin Parks, Johnson C. Smith
(N.C.)
5-11 Jr.
Taylor Rohde,
Alaska-Anchorage
6-9 Sr.
Cody Schilling, Augustana
(S.D.)
6-5 Sr.
Derek Staton, Mount Olive
(N.C.)
5-9
Sr.
Odell Turner, Wingate
(N.C.)
6-6 Jr.
Anthony Young, Kentucky
Wesleyan
6-7 Sr.