AMHERST, N.Y. – For the first time in program history, the Daemen University men's basketball team entered the top five of a national poll as they were ranked No. 4 in the most recent National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) National Poll while in the Division II College Sports Communicators (D2CSC) National Poll, the Wildcats remained at the No. 6 spot. The 'Cats set a program-record for the second consecutive week as they tallied 324 points and one first place vote in the NABC Poll and 258 points in the D2CSC Poll.
Daemen has been ranked in both polls dating back to the week of Nov. 18 and are the first East Coast Conference team to be ranked within the top five of any national polls since St. Thomas Aquinas was ranked No. 5 in the D2CSC National Poll on Feb. 23, 2021. Regionally, the Wildcats retained their top spot in the D2CSC East Region Poll for the sixth consecutive week as well as they amassed all six first place votes and 60 total points.
Sitting at No. 4, the Wildcats sit three points above No. 5 Ferris State (GLIAC) in the latest NABC Poll. Nova Southeastern (Sunshine State) retained their top spot with 398 points and 15 first place votes while Washburn (MIAA) (381) and West Liberty (Mountain East) (366) rounded out the remainder of the top three. Daemen has moved up at least one spot in each poll dating back to Nov. 19 when they entered the top 25 at No. 20.
The 'Cats were motionless in the D2CSC Poll as they remained at the No. 6 spot for the second consecutive week. Nova Southeastern again topped the poll with all 13 first place votes and 325 points.
One of eight undefeated teams ranked within the top 25, the Wildcats lead the nation in field goal percentage defense at 36.6 and are second nationally in both scoring defense (59.4) and scoring margin (24.7). Individually, redshirt sophomore center
Benjamin Bill (Hamburg, N.Y.) leads the ECC and is ranked sixth nationally for field goal percentage at .696 while graduate student forward
Matt Becker (Fairfield, Conn.) leads the ECC in assists-to-turnover ratio at 2.07.
Daemen will close out the 2024 calendar year with a trip to Vermont to compete in the Doc Jacobs Classic, hosted by Saint Michael's. The Blue and White will face Southern Connecticut State on Dec. 20 before battling the host Purple Knights the next day.
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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