IUP men's basketball moves up one spot in national rankings
The IUP men’s basketball team remains undefeated, and it ticked up one spot to No. 5 in the National Association of Basketball Coaches Division II Top 25 Poll released Tuesday afternoon.
The Crimson Hawks, 7-0 after a 76-63 win at Mansfield on Saturday, held the No. 6 position the previous two weeks. IUP, also 3-0 in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference, opened at No. 11 in the preseason poll.
One of six undefeated teams in the top 10, IUP trails No. 1 Nova Southeastern (5-0), Bellarmine (6-0), West Texas A&M (9-0) and Northwest Missouri State (8-1) at the top of the rankings.
The Crimson Hawks are behind Northwest Missouri State by just six points (348-342) in the voting.
IUP is one of two PSAC schools in the Top 25. West Chester, undefeated at 9-0, checks in at No. 18.
Fellow Atlantic Region squad West Liberty (6-2) is No 22.
The Crimson Hawks step away from conference play this weekend as they host Bethany (W.Va.) on Sunday at 4 p.m.
Michael Love is a TribLive reporter covering sports in the Alle-Kiski Valley and the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh. A Clearfield native and a graduate of Westminster (Pa.), he joined the Trib in 2002 after spending five years at the Clearfield Progress. He can be reached at mlove@triblive.com.
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