SAINT LEO LIONS #10 in USA

courtesy of the NCAA and Saint Leo University Athletics

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The Saint Leo men’s basketball team has jumped into the top-10 in the first National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) regular season poll which was released on Tuesday afternoon.  The Lions jumped four spots from the preseason poll and sit in the 10th spot.

Rewarded for convincing victories over Shorter and Tuskegee, the Lions jumped from their preseason 14th spot, leap-frogging Montevallo, Colorado School of Mines, Winona State and Findlay who all had less-than-stellar starts to their seasons.

In the rest of the first regular season poll of the 2012-13 season, West Liberty University, the top-ranked team in the pre-season poll, remains atop the rankings as the holiday weekend approaches.

The Hilltoppers, who have a road victory over then No. 8-Findlay among its three victories to start the year, received 14 of the 16 first place votes to retain the top ranking.  Washburn is right behind West Liberty at No. 2, just as it was in the pre-season poll, while Metropolitan State jumped from third to fifth with its 3-0 start that included a road win at Winona State.

Alabama-Huntsville dropped from third to fourth – its loss came at Kansas State – and Bellarmine checks in at No. 5 in the first regular season ranking.

Western Washington retained the sixth spot with wins in its first three games, while conference mate Seattle Pacific – who followed the Vikings to Hawaii and won a pair of games – comes in at No. 7.  Franklin Pierce, Southern Indiana and the Lions all moved up in the poll this week to round out the top 10.

Winona State dropped four spots to No. 11 to begin the second ten, followed by Christian Brothers, Findlay, Lincoln Memorial and Barton.  Chico State and Stonehill both moved up in the rankings to 16th and 17th, respectively, while Cal Poly Pomona, Indiana (Pa.) and West Texas A&M complete this week’s top 20.

The final five teams in the first regular season rankings are Montevallo, Florida Southern, Winston-Salem State, Northwest Missouri State and Kentucky Wesleyan.

The Lions now prepare for their first travels of the young season when they head to Milwaukee, Wis. to play in the Fresh Coast Classic.  The post-Thanksgiving tournament will see the Lions face the previous year’s champion in Lincoln University (Pa.) on Friday, November 23.  All of the tournament’s games will be played at Wisconsin Lutheran College in Milwaukee.

All Lions home games and select away games are being broadcast over the Saint Leo University Radio Network and Stretch Internet.  Rick Sassone and Mike Madigan will bring you all the action.

RICK SASSONE AND MIKE MADIGAN CALL SAINT LEO LIONS MEN’S BASKETBALL LIVE (PHOTO BY: MIKE CARLSON – SAINT LEO UNIVERSITY ATHLETICS)