WEST CHESTER, Pa. - West Chester University men's basketball has moved up two spots to No. 8 in the country in the National Association of Basketball Coaches poll that was released on Tuesday afternoon.
The Golden Rams (13-0 overall, 7-0 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference) haven't been ranked as high as No. 8 since they were tied for sixth on Jan. 24, 1983. This is the first season since the 1982-83 campaign that West Chester has spent more than one week in the Top 10 of the national rankings.
With Indiana University of Pennsylvania staying put at No. 9, the Golden Rams are ranked higher than any team in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference.
Monday night's 91-72 win at Edinboro University marked the first time in team history that West Chester men's basketball has won 13 games to begin a season.
In the eyes of many, Wednesday's home contest against PSAC East rival Shippensburg University set for 7:30 p.m. will be West Chester's tough test of the season to date. The Raiders sit comfortably in second place in the PSAC East standings at 6-1 with a 10-3 overall record. Shippensburg handed IUP its only loss of the season by a score of 69-66 on December 21. West Chester hasn't scored below 70 points since a 69-62 win over Claflin University in the season opener on November 8.
Led by freshman
Robbie Heath (Whittlesea, Australia / Abington) and senior
Malik Jackson (Lansdowne, Pa. / Penn Wood) at 24.3 and 18.8 points per game, respectively, the Golden Rams are averaging 88.4 points per contest, 4.9 more than any other team in the conference. The next seven highest scoring teams in the PSAC are separated by 4.6 points per game.
West Chester will travel to Mansfield University for its third game of the week on Saturday at 3 p.m. The Mountaineers are 8-4 overall and 3-4 in conference. West Chester has beaten Mansfield in 17 of the last 18 meetings between the two programs.
PARKING MAP - Sharpless Street Garage will be the best option, and it becomes free 90 minutes prior to the women's game set for 5:30 pm. and remains open well after the men's game ends. The men's game begins at 7:30 p.m.
NABC Division II National Rankings
1. Bellarmine (Ky.) 10-0
2. Northwest Missouri State 12-1
3. Lincoln Memorial (Tenn.) 13-1
4. Nova Southeastern (Fla.) 10-1
5. West Texas A&M 13-1
6. UC San Diego 13-1
7. St. Edward's (Texas) 12-1
8. West Chester (Pa.) 12-0
9. Indiana (Pa.) 10-1
10. DBU (Texas) 12-1
11. Ferris State (Mich.) 15-2
12. Missouri Southern 10-2
13. Alabama Huntsville 12-2
14. Florida Southern 12-2
15. St. Thomas Aquinas (N.Y.) 12-2
16. Indianapolis (Ind.) 9-2
17. Bentley (Mass.) 12-2
18. Grand Valley State (Mich.) 11-2
19. Dixie State (Utah) 11-2
20. Southern Indiana 9-2
21. Azusa Pacific (Calif.) 11-3
22. Catawba (N.C.) 10-2
23. Missouri-St. Louis 12-1
24. Western Oregon 8-2
25. Cal Poly Pomona 10-3
