INDIANAPOLIS - At 2-0, Kentucky Wesleyan and Trevecca Nazarene both stand at the top of the Great Midwest Athletic Conference men's basketball standings early in the league schedule.
With the G-MAC schedule just getting underway, the push towards March will be an exciting one as the NCAA Championship Midwest Regional awaits. There is still plenty of basketball left to be played as the spring heats up.
Kentucky Wesleyan is starting to attract more attention towards the NABC Top-25 Poll, where the reigning G-MAC regular season and tournament champs were ranked as high as 10th in the 2015-16 campaign.
KWC is streaking. Winners of 10 straight and 12-2 overall, the Panthers routed Ohio Valley before pulling away from Cedarville late to start conference play. Winning both of those games on the road has only strengthened observers' beliefs in the program to repeat and give the conference a strong regional contender at the national level.
Nine of Kentucky Wesleyan's 12 wins are within the Midwest Region and the Panthers could conceivably go unbeaten at the Sportscenter in Owensboro to finish out the regular season. Beating 2017-18 conference member Hillsdale on Nov. 26 at home was an exciting glimpse into the future.
Standout seniors Ken-Jah Bosley and Jordan Jacks are second and third in the league in scoring, respectively. Bosley is on pace to be the G-MAC's first player to score 2,000 points in a career and heads into this week at 1,770.
KWC has been statistically dominant to this point and currently leads the G-MAC in scoring offense, scoring defense, point differential, free-throw percentage, field goal percentage and three-point field goal percentage.
Trevecca Nazarene (5-11, 2-0 G-MAC) is also tied at the top after beating the same two opponents on the road. The Trojans are young after overhauling the 2015-16 roster from graduation, but their signature win so far was a really impressive one against a top-10 Alabama-Huntsville team.
Davis & Elkins (6-9, 1-0 G-MAC) and Alderson Broaddus (4-9, 1-0 G-MAC) are both also unbeaten early after winning their G-MAC openers. D&E's Kevin Bracy-Davis continues to put up close to league-leading numbers in several categories and will most likely be the league's second-highest scorer in G-MAC history at Malone on Thursday.
Both programs are playoff-tested and have played tough schedules that include nationally-ranked teams like Wheeling Jesuit, Indiana (PA), West Liberty and Fairmont State.
Cedarville (5-9, 0-2 G-MAC) tries to halt a five-game skid this week as the Yellow Jackets make a swing through West Virginia. Malone (4-8, 0-2 G-MAC) has already played four of the five incoming G-MAC members from the GLIAC in non-conference play and like Cedarville, travels on the road to face KWC and TNU this week. Ohio Valley (0-11, 0-2 G-MAC) hosts Walsh tonight to start a busy week that includes games at D&E and AB.
Future G-MAC Members
Findlay (12-3 overall) has been putting up gaudy offensive numbers and scored more than 100 points four times already. The Oilers have beaten Trevecca Nazarene twice and Cedarville while most recently toppling No. 6 Saginaw Valley State. Walsh (10-4 overall) also beat No. 6 SVSU and has three wins against current G-MAC members. Ohio Dominican (9-5 overall) has won three straight and the Panthers defeated Malone back on Nov. 25. Hillsdale (6-8 overall) and Lake Erie (2-14 overall) have combined for three wins against current G-MAC members.