Men's Hoops No. 7 In Latest D3hoops.com Top 25 Poll
WEST HARTFORD, Conn. – The University of Saint Joseph (USJ) men's basketball program dropped one spot in the national rankings to seventh following the release of the D3hoops.com Men's Basketball Week 5 Poll, announced Monday evening by site officials. USJ was previously ranked as high as fifth; a school-record ranking for any USJ team, and the highest men's basketball ranking for a Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) team in the history of the D3hoops.com national rankings (since 1999-00).
The Blue Jays improved to a perfect 9-0 on the season following a 1-0 week, which featured a 41-point rout over GNAC counterpart Regis College on Saturday, despite dropping down a spot. Washington University (Mo.) bumped the Blue Jays down a peg after moving up three spots from No. 7 to No. 4 despite not playing this past week. UW-Oshkosh dropped down from No. 4 to No. 6 after a 1-1 week which included an 82-78 overtime loss to unranked UW-Whitewater.
The top-10 list can be found below:
|
Rank |
School (No. 1 votes) |
W-L |
Pts. |
Prev. |
|
1 |
Randolph-Macon (17) |
10-1 |
615 |
1 |
|
2 |
UW-Platteville (8) |
15-0 |
607 |
2 |
|
3 |
9-2 |
569 |
3 |
|
|
4 |
10-1 |
489 |
7 |
|
|
5 |
14-1 |
484 |
5 |
|
|
6 |
13-2 |
481 |
4 |
|
|
7 |
9-0 |
470 |
6 |
|
|
8 |
10-2 |
450 |
8 |
|
|
9 |
14-2 |
422 |
10 |
|
|
10 |
12-2 |
396 |
9 |
Complete D3hoops.com Top 25 Poll
USJ has won 11 straight games dating back to the end of the 2020-21 season, tied for the third-longest active streak in Division III Men's Basketball. Only Clark with 12 and No. 2 UW-Platteville with 18 have longer streaks. The Blue Jays also hold an 18-game conference winning streak, the second-longest active streak in the nation (Yeshiva 29).
In addition to being one of just three remaining unbeaten teams in D-III (UW-Platteville & Clark), USJ has had some success individually as well. Senior forward Jordan Powell sits sixth in D-III in field-goal percentage (71.0%), while senior guard Jaecee Martin (Hartford, Conn.) is just outside the top-five in the nation at sixth in assists per game (7.0). Martin shattered the school record and tied an NCAA high this season with 18 assists in one game. His 18 assists are the third-most in a game this season across all three NCAA divisions, including D-I.
From the team side, the Blue Jays are among the nation's leaders in numerous categories, including scoring margin (27.3, 1st), three-point field-goal defense (23.5%, 1st), field-goal percentage defense (35.0%, 1st), blocks per game (6.4, 2nd), opponent points per game (59.3, 5th), and rebound margin (12.0, 6th).
The D3hoops.com Top-25 is voted on by a panel of 25 coaches, sports information directors, and media members from across the country and is published weekly. Points are awarded on a 25-24-23-22-etc. basis.
UP NEXT
The Blue Jays return to the hardwood Wednesday, January 12 for a Great Northeast Athletic Conference matchup on the road against Elms College. Tipoff between the Blue Jays and Blazers is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. inside the Maguire Center in Chicopee, Mass. Spectators are currently not allowed at indoor athletic events inside the Maguire Center, but fans can follow all of the action live via the links to Elms' livestream which can be found on www.usjbluejays.com.
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