Nakyhi Harris dribbles while a D'Youville defender tries to stay in front of him as the Lumsden Gymnasium crowd looks on

Geoff Schneider

Wildcats Maintain #4 National Ranking

2/3/2026 1:30:00 PM

AMHERST, N.Y. - Daemen University is ranked No. 4 in the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Division II Poll for week 10 of the 2025-26 regular season. The Wildcats have now been ranked in 26 successive national polls, including 23 straight weeks in the top five, dating back to last season.

Daemen is off to a 22-1 start this season, including a 10-0 mark in East Coast Conference play. The Wildcats are one of just five Division II teams with one or fewer losses, all of which are ranked in the top five this week, and their 22 wins are the most in the country. The Wildcats posted an 81-60 win over Roberts Wesleyan in their only contest last week, extending their home winning streak to 13 straight games, and their conference winning streak to 32 consecutive games dating back to February of 2024. It also marked Daemen's 39th win in their last 41 meetings with RWU, a string that dates back to 2008.

NABC Division II Poll For Feb 3 2026

Daemen's success this season has been rooted at the defensive end of the court. The Wildcats rank 19th nationally (and first among ECC teams) in scoring defense, allowing just 65.5 points per game. Daemen's field goal percentage defense (.394) ranks 11th nationally (also first in the ECC). The Wildcats also lead the country in blocks per game (5.9) and rank fourth in rebounding margin (+10.1).

The Wildcats have been led this season by veterans Zach Philipkoski (New Hartford, N.Y.), Justin Hemphill (Buffalo, N.Y.) and Benjamin Bill (Hamburg, N.Y.). Philipkoski, who is a three-time ECC Player of the Week, is shooting 50.2 percent from the field and averaging a team-high 17.7 points to go with 7.2 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game. He has posted nine 20-point outings so far, and ranks fifth in scoring, sixth in rebounding and seventh assists among the ECC's leaders.

Hemphill leads the team in assists (5.1 apg) and steals (2.0spg) while scoring 11.7 points and grabbing 8.3 rebounds per game. He is a four-time ECC Defensive Player of the Week honoree, and his seven double-doubles rank second among all ECC players. Hemphill is the only player among the league's top five leaders in rebounds (third), assists (second), blocked shots (fourth) and steals (fifth).

Bill, the 2025-26 ECC Preseason Player of the Year and a consensus All-American last season, has posted six double-doubles and is producing 16.7 points, 9.0 rebounds and 2.2 blocks per game, while shooting 69 percent from the field. The redshirt junior center missed 11 games with an injury, but returned to the lineup Saturday vs. RWU when he recorded eight points and six rebounds in just 17 minutes worth of work.

Philipkoski, Hemphill and Bill were all recently named to the Bevo Francis Award Top 100 Watch List, putting them in contention for one of Small College Basketball's highest honors, which goes to the non-Division I player deemed to have had the finest overall season. Hemphill was also recently named to the Trevor Hudgins Award Top 25 Watch List, an honor that goes to the non-Division I player with the best overall career.

The Wildcats have also gotten solid contributions from the likes of Justin Glover (Buffalo, N.Y.), Ryan Heath (Rochester, N.Y.) and Phil Nwugwo (Rochester, N.Y.).

Now in his third season as a full-time starter, Glover has played in more than 100 games with 83 starts to his credit. He scored the 1,000th point of his career in a recent win over D'Youville, and is averaging 11.5 points per outing with 45 three-point field goals this season.

Heath is in the starting lineup for the first time in his career, and has responded by averaging 9.8 points, 3.1 assists and 1.4 steals per game - all career highs. He's also been a two-time ECC Defensive Player of the Week selection.

Nwugwo has scored 10+ points in 12 of the last 14 games. He had only four double-figure scoring games in his career coming into the season. The 6-foot-6 redshirt junior forward stepped into the starting lineup while Bill was out of the lineup, and has raised his contributions significantly. For the season, Nwugwo is averaging 9.1 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game.

Daemen is now 50-2 since the start of the 2024-25 season, and the Wildcats have gone 4-1 against nationally ranked teams this year. They own wins over No. 19 Lenoir-Rhyne (Nov. 1), No. 5 Fairmont State (Nov. 18), No. 21 Assumption (Dec. 17) and No. 22 Adelphi (Jan. 1).

The No. 4 Wildcats are back in action this weekend with ECC contests at District of Columbia (Friday, Feb. 6, 7:30 p.m.) and Saten Island (Sunday, Feb. 8, 3 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.

Follow the Daemen University men's basketball program on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at @DaemenMBB.

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