NABC Division II Poll (Jan. 26)
INDIANAPOLIS – Men’s teams in Division II continue to bounce around like a pinball as another National Association of Basketball Coaches Poll of the top 25 was announced on Tuesday afternoon.
The Great Midwest Athletic Conference has been represented by Findlay and Hillsdale for basically the entire season. This week, Findlay helped its cause by moving up to slots to No. 7 while Hillsdale is ranked a season-best 18th while pacing the top of the league standings.
The Chargers were previously ranked 18th by the coaches organization after jumping up five spots in the poll prior.
Findlay and Hillsdale have mirrored each other’s season records at 9-1 overall. Hillsdale has one more league victory than the Oilers with Findlay playing Trevecca Nazarene one time out of the league schedule.
Fans have Feb. 6 circled on their calendars with Hillsdale hosting Findlay in a game that could feature major implications for the top seed and regular season title in the men’s basketball landscape.
That will be the second time the two teams have met in 2020-21 with a crazy half-court buzzer beater off the hands of Tommy Schmock the difference in Croy on Jan. 2 in a 68-65 final.
Schmock made more headlines over this past week of play as the senior guard become the storied program’s all-time career leader in assists. He already is reigns as the conference leader in that category and also is tops in steals.
The steady Schmock just makes the Oilers tick and the team doesn’t skip a beat with him at the controls of the offense. UF went on the road to take care of business against Kentucky Wesleyan and Trevecca Nazarene.
Next on the docket for Findlay are home dates against Ohio Dominican and Lake Erie on Thursday and Saturday.
Hillsdale has won six straight, also defeating both of Findlay’s common opponents from the past week of competition. The end results were very close, a pair of three-point margins, but different players stepped up in a true team effort.
The ability to pull games out late will also be critical in the postseason as the Chargers surely will contend for one of the top seeds in the eight-team bracket.
The Chargers also face Lake Erie (Thursday) and Ohio Dominican (Saturday) this week in the conference schedule.