KEENE, N.H. – The Keene State College men's basketball team remained No. 7 in the most recent D3hoops.com Top 25 poll released Monday evening, stretching their string of appearing in the national poll to 31 consecutive weeks dating to the beginning of the 2022-2023 season.
The Owls gathered 433 points in the poll to earn that ranking, and their current streak of appearances remains the longest in the country with John Carroll University. No. 12 Hampden-Sydney College has been ranked in 24 consecutive polls.
The top three remained unchanged in this week's balloting, with defending national champion Trine University (7-0) taking the top spot and 24 first place votes. Third-ranked Emory University picked up the other No. 1 vote, with Washington University (St. Louis) still being ranked second. No. 4 Trinity College (Conn.) and No. 5 Illinois Wesleyan University flipped spots, with the University of Wisconsin-Platteville and the Owls remaining sixth and seventh, respectively. Gettysburg College, Wisconsin Lutheran University, and New York University followed in the ensuing three spots to round out the top ten.
Keene State's next contest comes on Wednesday, when the Owls visit No. 16 Tufts University for a 7:00 p.m. tip-off. The Jumbos were No. 8 in last week's poll and one spot behind KSC, but dropped after a 74-61 home loss to now No. 11 Worcester Polytechnic Institute on Saturday while the Owls were cruising to a home-opening victory. WPI outscored the Jumbos 44-30 after halftime. Tufts rebounded with an 86-51 blowout win over winless Emmanuel College (Mass.) last night.
Based on the current poll, the Owls' schedule features several opportunities for marquee wins. KSC downed Williams College, now No. 25, 75-71 on the road on November 22. Beyond the matchup with Tufts, the Owls are also slated to take on current No. 14 University of Wisconsin-La Crosse in last December, No. 21 Middlebury College at home in mid-January, and the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh (receiving votes) in late December.
Keene State is next at home when they open their conference slate on Wednesday, December 11 against Plymouth State University. The women tip-off at 5:30 p.m. and the men at 7:30 p.m.
D3hoops.com Men's Basketball Top 25 Poll - Monday, December 2, 2024 (Week 2)
Dropped out: No. 24 Hood; No. 25 Anderson.
Others receiving votes: St. Thomas (Texas) 42; UW-Stevens Point 40; Claremont-Mudd-Scripps 37; Randolph-Macon 37; Averett 31; Wesleyan 29; Cal Lutheran 25; Illinois College 22; Nebraska Wesleyan 19; RPI 18; Marietta 18; Denison 18; Catholic 15; Roanoke 12; Stockton 12; UW-Oshkosh 10; Mount Union 5; Oswego State 4; Anderson 3; Schreiner 3; Augustana 1; SUNY New Paltz 1; North Central (Ill.) 1.
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.