The Fort Hays State Tigers move up two spots to No. 23 in this week’s NABC Division II men’s basketball rankings. (See complete poll below).
It’s a school record 36th-consecutive week of being ranked in the NABC regular season poll. The Tigers eclipsed the old mark of 29, which started with the first regular season poll of the 1995-96 undefeated national championship season for the Tigers and ended on the ninth poll of the 1997-98 season.
The Tigers have now been ranked in 49 regular season polls under 11th-year head coach Mark Johnson. All of those polls have been since the 2005-06 season, a year that saw the Tigers reach the No. 1 ranking in the nation.
Missouri Southern moves up two to No. 14.
The top two teams from last year’s final NABC/Division II men’s basketball rankings are now the top two teams in the current poll, as Bellarmine and West Liberty occupy the those spots in the new rankings released Tuesday.
Bellarmine, who held the number one spot in November, returns to the top of the rankings after posting three wins last week, including a home win over No. 9 Northern Kentucky, coupled with two losses by last week’s top-ranked team, Kentucky Wesleyan. Meanwhile, West Liberty – the No. 1 team in the final 2010-11 rankings ahead of Bellarmine – moved up to No. 2 after recording a pair of victories of its own a week ago.
NABC Division II (January 24, 2012)
1. Bellarmine (Ky.) (16-1)
2. West Liberty (W.Va.) (16-1)
3. Metropolitan State (Colo.) (17-1)
4. Tarleton State (Tex.) (16-1)
5. Lincoln Memorial (Tenn.) (17-1)
6. Winona State (Minn.) (17-2)
7. Kentucky Wesleyan (15-2)
8. Southern Indiana (15-2)
9. Northern Kentucky (15-2)
10. Midwestern State (Tex.) (15-1)
11. Colorado School of Mines (15-2)
12. Alabama-Huntsville (14-3)
13.St. CloudState (Minn.) (15-2)
14. Missouri Southern (16-3)
15. Christian Brothers (Tenn.) (14-3)
16. Indiana (Pa.) (13-3)
17. Shaw (N.C.) (15-2)
18. Western Washington (17-3)
19. Bowie State (Md.) (13-3)
20. Hillsdale (Mich.) (15-2)
21. Indianapolis (Ind.) (14-3)
22. West Georgia (17-3)
23. Fort Hays State (Kan.) (13-4)
24. South Carolina-Aiken (13-3)
25. Alaska-Anchorage (13-4)
Others receiving votes: Minnesota State-Moorhead 11, Arkansas-Monticello 9, Winston-Salem State (N.C.) 9, Adelphi (N.Y.) 6, Montevallo (Alal.) 5, Northwest Missouri State 5, Alderson-Broaddus (W.Va.) 4, C.W. Post (N.Y.) 2, Anderson (S.C.) 1, Bemidji State (Minn.) 1, Bentley (Mass.) 1, Florida Tech 1, Missouri-St. Louis 1.