AMHERST, N.Y. – Coming off a week where they defeated both of their opponents by 20-or-more points, the Daemen University men's basketball team rose to No. 7 in the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) National Poll while in the Division II College Sports Communicators (D2CSC) National Poll, the Wildcats shifted up to the No. 6 spot. The Blue and White totaled a program-record 301 points and a first-place vote in the NABC Poll and 253 points in the D2CSC Poll.
Daemen has been ranked in both polls dating back to the week of Nov. 18 and remain the only member of the East Coast Conference to be ranked in both polls as well. Regionally, the Wildcats retained their top spot in the D2CSC East Region Poll for the fifth consecutive week.
Ranked No. 8 nationally by the NABC last week, the Wildcats moved one spot up to No. 7 and received one first-place vote for the second consecutive week. The Wildcats 301 points, which represent a Division II-era program record for points received in any poll, are just two shy of Minnesota State Moorehead (NSIC) who resides in sixth with 303 points. Nova Southeastern (Sunshine State) retained their top spot with 399 points and the remaining 15 first-place votes.
Daemen also shifted one spot in the D2CSC poll after sitting in the No. 7 spot the week prior. The Wildcats sit 15 points back of Ferris State (GLVC) and claiming a spot within the top five of the poll. Sitting outside and looking into the top 25 was longtime ECC rival St. Thomas Aquinas who received votes to be ranked this week. Nova Southeastern again held the top spot, garnering 325 points and all 13 first place votes.
As a team, the Wildcats lead the conference and are ranked top 10 in the nation across multiple stat categories. Daemen leads the nation in scoring defense, only allowing an average of 57.4 points per game to opponents while their scoring margin ranks third at 23.6. The 'Cats defense has shined early on as they are second nationally in field goal percentage defense at .353 and fourth in rebounding margin, grabbing 12.3 more boards than their opponents on average. Offensively, the 'Cats rank just outside the top 10 for field goal percentage as they are ranked 11
th at .510 and 13th for bench points with an average of 38.9 per game while leading the conference in both categories as well. Daemen's 7-0 start also marks their best start to a season since the 1998-99 campaign.
The Wildcats will put their top 25 ranking on the line this Friday when they face the aforementioned Spartans at home. Tip-off from Lumsden Gymnasium is set for 7:30 p.m.
Daemen University features the premier NCAA Division II athletics program in the Buffalo-Niagara region, sponsoring 17 intercollegiate teams. For the latest information on Daemen Athletics, follow the Wildcats via social media on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Instagram, or sign up to receive customizable news alerts, e-mail newsletters and weekly schedule alerts.
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