AUGUSTA, Ga. – Augusta State improved six spots Tuesday in the NABC Coaches poll, climbing to No. 15 in the fourth poll of the 2012-13 season.
The Jaguars are off to a 5-0 start following a 73-61 victory at Lander on Saturday, Dec. 8. Sophomore guard Devonte Thomas connected on five 3-pointers and logged a game-high 19 points. Junior forward Harold Doby dropped in 18 points, including 16 in the second half, and grabbed 10 rebounds. Sophomore Devon Wright-Nelson notched 12 points and eight boards and senior Travis Keels managed a season-high 10 points and six rebounds.
The appearance in the national rankings marked the 67th time the Jags have been ranked -- all under head coach Dip Metress -- among the country's top 25 teams since the 2006-07 season.
From 2007-2011, ASU appeared in every national poll for four straight seasons. Overall, the Jags have cracked the top 20 64 times, the top 10 43 times and were ranked among the top five on 27 occasions.
The Jags open their Peach Belt Conference home schedule on Monday, Dec. 17 when they host Montevallo in a key league showdown at 7:30 p.m., in Christenberry Fieldhouse. The Falcons (4-3) advanced to the NCAA Tournament's championship game last season, falling to Western Washington 72-65 in the title game.
The top seven spots went unchanged and only one new team broke into the top 10, which again found West Liberty at the top of the rankings for the fourth straight week.
The Hilltoppers posted two wins in conference play to up their record to 8-0 on the season and received 12 of the 16 first place votes in the process. The next four teams – Washburn, Metropolitan State, Alabama-Huntsville and Bellarmine -- each got a first place votes as well, while No. 6 Western Washington and No. 7 Southern Indiana held their positions in the poll.
NABC Coaches Poll
(as of Tuesday, Dec. 11)
Rec. Pts. Pvs.
1. West Liberty, W.Va. Hilltoppers (12) 8-0 393 1
2. Washburn (Kan.) Ichabods (1) 7-0 377 2
3. Metropolitan State (Colo.) Roadrunners (1) 7-0 361 3
4. Alabama-Huntsville Chargers (1) 7-1 344 4
5. Bellarmine (Ky.) Knights (1) 6-0 340 5
6. Western Washington Vikings 7-0 333 6
7. Southern Indiana Screaming Eagles 5-0 296 7
8. Cal Poly Pomona Broncos 7-0 285 9
9. Seattle Pacific (Wash.) Falcons 8-1 276 8
10. Northwest Missouri State Bearcats 8-0 247 12
11. St. Cloud State (Minn.) Huskies 6-0 233 14
12. Franklin Pierce (N.H.) Ravens 7-1 201 15
13. Kentucky Wesleyan Panthers 5-0 194 16
14. Indianapolis (Ind.) Greyhounds 7-0 187 17
15. AUGUSTA STATE JAGUARS 5-0 160 21
16. Barton (N.C.) Bulldogs 7-0 255 11
17. Assumption (Mass.) Greyhounds 8-0 119 24
18. Indiana (Pa.) Crimson Hawks 6-1 114 22
19. Drury (Mo.) Panthers 6-0 109 NR
20. Lincoln Memorial (Tenn.) Railsplitters 6-1 91 11
21. Minnesota State Mavericks 6-1 54 20
22. Tampa (Fla.) Spartans 6-0 51 NR
23. Winston-Salem (N.C.) State Rams 6-2 40 NR
24. Findlay (Ohio) Oilers 5-2 36 13
25. Alaska-Anchorage Seawolves 7-2 32 NR
Others receiving votes: King (Tenn.) 29, Newman (Kan.) 27, Winona State (Minn.) 19, Florida Southern 16, Colorado Mesa 15, Christian Brothers (Tenn.) 14, Adams State (Colo.) 11, Augustana (S.D.) 11, Wayne State (Mich.) 9, West Texas A&M 7, Cal State-San Bernardino 6, Maryville (Mo.) 6, Anderson (S.C.) 5, Michigan Tech 4, Post (Conn.) 4, East Stroudsburg (Pa.) 3, Massachusetts-Lowell 2, North Alabama 2, Colorado School of Mines 2, Grand Canyon (Ariz.) 1, Shepherd (W.Va.) 1
*Records are through games of Sunday, Dec. 9