Men's Hoops Equals Highest National Ranking In School History
WEST HARTFORD, Conn. – The University of Saint Joseph (USJ) men's basketball program is on the move again, coming in at No. 5 in the D3hoops.com Men's Basketball Week 10 Poll, announced Monday by site officials.
The Blue Jays have now matched their highest national ranking in school history across any sport (2021-22 week 2 poll). USJ is one of two unbeaten teams left in the entire country (Div I, II or III), and holds a 21-0 mark on the season. USJ went 3-0 on the week with three Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) victories to make it 16-0 in GNAC play overall. The weekend was highlighted by a second straight win over arch rival and fellow in-state GNAC foe, Albertus Magnus, on the road 85-81.
The top four remained the same, while three of the next four teams shuffled around. The top-10 list can be found below:
|
# |
School (No. 1 votes) |
W-L |
Pts. |
Prev. |
|
1 |
Randolph-Macon (25) |
22-1 |
625 |
1 |
|
2 |
20-2 |
592 |
2 |
|
|
3 |
19-3 |
573 |
3 |
|
|
4 |
21-2 |
539 |
4 |
|
|
5 |
21-0 |
517 |
6 |
|
|
6 |
19-4 |
497 |
9 |
|
|
7 |
19-4 |
452 |
7 |
|
|
8 |
19-4 |
408 |
5 |
|
|
9 |
19-2 |
369 |
16 |
|
|
10 |
19-3 |
365 |
10 |
Complete D3Hoops.com Top 25 Poll
With the win over Emmanuel Saturday, the Blue Jays clinched the GNAC regular season championship, and as a result, clinched a first-round bye and home-court advantage throughout the GNAC Tournament.
The Blue Jays win streak (23) is the longest active streak in all of college basketball (Div I-III). USJ is one of two remaining undefeated teams in the nation (one in D-II), and also owns the longest active conference win streak in Division III at 30 straight. During the streak, USJ has also won 21 of its last 22 games by double digits.
USJ has had some notable success individually in both the conference and the nation's leaders. Senior forward Jordan Powell (Middletown, Conn.) is tied for third in all of D-III in field goal percentage (70.3%), while senior guard Jaecee Martin (Hartford, Conn.) is in the top-20 in the nation in assists per game (6.0). Martin shattered the school record and tied an NCAA high this season with 18 assists in one game. His 18 assists are tied for 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 (25.4, 1st), field goal percentage defense (35.1%, 1st), blocks per game (6.3, 2nd), rebound margin (10.6, 5th), opponent points per game (60.3, t-6th), and three-point field goal defense (27.4%, t-7th).
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 are back home for a senior night doubleheader with the men's team, as both go head-to-head against Johnson & Wales University on Tuesday, February 15 at 5:00 and 7:00 p.m. respectively. The women will play first, and the men's game will follow. You can purchase tickets, or you can head over to usjbluejays.com to catch the action live!
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