Daemen Ascends To Top-20 Ranking In Both Division II National Polls

Daemen Ranked 12th In D2SIDA Poll & 19th In NABC Poll

3/5/2019 5:54:00 PM

By: By Mike Miranto, Sr. Associate A.D. for External Operations & Communications

AMHERST, N.Y. - The Daemen College men's basketball team is ranked in both Division II national polls for the sixth consecutive week. The Wildcats have moved to No. 12 in the Division II Sports Information Directors of America (D2SIDA) national media poll, up seven spots from last week. It marks the ninth straight week that Daemen has been ranked in the D2SIDA poll. Coach Mike MacDonald's team is also included in the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) poll, as the Wildcats are ranked No. 19 this week after coming in at No. 22 last week.

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Daemen (24-4, 16-2 ECC) has won 13 of their last 14 games. The Wildcats closed the regular season this past weekend with wins over Mercy College (89-69 and University of Bridgeport (93-71). The two victories clinched the East Coast Conference regular season title - Daemen's second since joining the league in 2013-14 - as well as the number one seed in the upcoming ECC Championship tournament.

Northwest Missouri State University, the only unbeaten team in the country, remains atop both polls. Indiana University (Pa.), Nova Southeastern University and West Texas A&M University round out the top-four in both polls.

Daemen is the highest-ranked team from the East Region in both polls this week. Saint Anselm College is the only other East Region team included; the Hawks are ranked No. 22 in the D2SIDA poll and No. 23 in the NABC poll. Daemen defeated Saint Anselm, then ranked fourth in both polls, 78-72 back on Jan. 2.

Daemen's 24 wins are their most in a season since going 27-6 during the 2012-13 campaign. Their 16 ECC wins are the most they've had 9886

since going 17-3 in their inaugural year in the league. That was also the last time Daemen claimed the league's regular season title.

The top-seeded Wildcats await their ECC Championship semifinal game which is scheduled for this Saturday, March 9 at Hubbell Gymnasium in Bridgeport, Conn. (5 p.m. tip-off). They will face the winner of Wednesday's first-round matchup between fourth-seeded Bridgeport and fifth-seeded Roberts Wesleyan College. Daemen is making its fourth straight conference tournament appearance, and MacDonald's squad is seeking their first ECC tournament crown. The winners of Saturday's semifinal games face off Sunday at 2:30 p.m. with an automatic bid to the NCAA Division II East Region Championship on the line.

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