After starting the season 4-0 for the second time in three years, the Seattle University men’s basketball team has entered the top 25 of the Division II coaches poll, as the team is ranked 13th in this week’s poll sponsored by the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC).
All four victories have come against regional opponents, as has defeated four CCAA schools in the first two weeks of the season. At the Elgin Baylor Tip-Off Classic at the on Nov. 16 and 17, SeattleU defeated , ranked ninth in the preseason poll, and Cal State Stanislaus.
Last weekend, the team traveled to , to participate in the Notre Dame de Namur Thanksgiving Tournament. Last Friday, the team opened a 21-point lead and held on to defeat Cal State Monterey Bay, 74-71. The next day SeattleU opened a similar size lead, but this time did not let up as it cruised to a 79-60 victory over .
is the only GNAC school and one of three West Region schools ranked in this week’s top 25. Cal State San Bernardino, the defending regional champion, has started the year 5-0 and jumped into the #9 spot, while BYU Hawaii moved up from 25th to 20th without having played a game yet this year. Future opponents , Seattle Pacific, Alaska Anchorage, and Alderson-Broaddus are all in the “also receiving votes” category.
This ties the school mark for the highest national ranking in the Division II history of the program, as SeattleU was ranked 13th on Dec. 20 last season after starting the year 7-1, including victories on the road against Colorado Christian, Regis University, BYU Hawaii, and Hawaii Pacific. This is the third team to earn a national ranking in 2007-08, as the men’s and women’s soccer teams were both nationally ranked throughout the fall.
returns to action Saturday, Dec. 1, hosting Western State College at the beginning at 7:30 p.m., after the conclusion of the Dave Cox Women’s Basketball Classic.