KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Another undefeated weekend combined with a loss by last week's top-ranked team has brought the Colorado School of Mines men's basketball team to the No. 2 national ranking in this week's NABC/Division II Coaches Poll, which was released on Tuesday afternoon.
Mines (24-2, 20-2 RMAC) improved its winning streak to 12 games with a pair of road victories over CSU-Pueblo (71-66) on Friday and UC-Colorado Springs (88-52) on Saturday. Head coach Pryor Orser's squad has been ranked by the NABC every week this season after opening the campaign ranked No. 18 in the country. The No. 2 ranking is the highest in school history - eclipsing the No. 3 ranking from last week.
The Orediggers set a new school record for conference wins in a season this year with a 20-2 record - topping the 18-4 mark set by last year's team. CSM is now just one win shy of tying the school record for overall wins in a season that was also set by last year's NCAA Tournament team. They are also ranked No.1 in the Central Region rankings, also the highest in school history.
Defending national champion Bellarmine (Ky.) reclaims the top spot after last week's top-ranked team, West Liberty, fell to Wheeling Jesuit by a 109-99 final score on Feb. 22. The Knights captured all eight first place votes.
Alabama-Huntsville, an Elite 8 team from a season ago, follows Mines in third, West Liberty is fourth, and Shaw (N.C.) rounds out the top five.
Mines will open its postseason play on Tuesday evening when it hosts Western State (13-13, 11-11 RMAC) in an RMAC Shootout quarterfinal round matchup at 7 p.m. All Colorado School of Mines students will receive free admission with a valid BlasterCard.
NABC/Division II Coaches Poll (Feb. 28, 2012) Record Points Pvs
1. Bellarmine, Ky. (8 first place votes) 24-2 200 2
2. Colorado School of Mines 24-2 189 3
3. Alabama-Huntsville 23-3 182 4
4. West Liberty, W.Va. 26-2 177 1
5. Shaw, N.C. 24-2 167 6
6. Midwestern State, Texas 23-3 153 5
7. Tarleton State, Texas 24-4 152 7
8. Christian Brothers, Tenn. 21-5 137 11
9. Indiana, Pa. 22-4 126 13
10. Northern Kentucky 21-5 125 8
11. Western Washington 25-4 123 14
12. Metropolitan State, Colo. 22-5 111 15
13. Southern Indiana 21-6 103 9
14. Kentucky Wesleyan 21-6 84 19
15. Alaska-Anchorage 21-5 82 20
16. Anderson, S.C. 22-4 75 21
17. Lincoln Memorial, Tenn. 24-4 69 12
18. Northwest Missouri State 21-5 58 16
19. Missouri Southern 22-6 54 10
20. Indianapolis, Ind. 19-7 39 20
21. Arkansas Tech 21-5 36 17
22. Charleston, W.Va. 23-5 30 25
23. District of Columbia 22-4 23 18
24. Franklin Pierce, N.H. 21-6 21 NR
25. Seattle Pacific, Wash. 21-6 18 24
Others receiving votes: Hillsdale (Mich.) 14, Florida Tech 12, Washburn (Kan.) 10, West Georgia 9, King (Tenn.) 7, Winona State (Minn.) 5, LIU-C.W. Post 3, South Carolina Aiken 3, Bemidji State (Minn.) 2, Bowie State (Md.) 1.
Dropped out: Winona State (22).
Records and previous rankings are through games of Feb. 26, 2012. The final poll will be released on Tuesday, March 6.
