EAST STROUDSBURG – After extending its winning streak to six in victories over Kutztown, Mansfield and Shepherd, the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) and the Division II College Sports Communicators (D2CSC) announced that the East Stroudsburg University men's basketball team is now ranked No. 11 and No. 7 respectively in the organization's national polls.
Along with the national rankings, the Warriors (19-2, 13-2 PSAC) is now ranked No. 2 in the D2CSC Atlantic Region Poll, with Gannon jumping the Warriors for the top spot.
ESU's No. 11 ranking in the NABC matches a season-high, with the Warriors ranked in the same slot on Jan. 16. The No. 11 ranking from the NABC is the best for ESU since being tabbed No. 4 to start the 2014-15 season.
The Warriors dropped from No. 5 to No. 7 in the D2CSC Poll, despite the undefeated week, being leapfrogged by No. 4 Gannon, No. 5 Dallas Baptist and No. 6 North Georgia.
Among 289 teams, the Warriors rank in the top 25 in NCAA Division II in winning percentage (3rd, 90.5%), turnovers forced per game (5th, 20.3), fastbreak points (5th, 18.1), scoring margin (6th, +15.4), free throws made (6th, 19.2), steals per game (6th, 11.0), free throw attempts (7th, 26.3), scoring offense (11th, 89.2), assists per game (14th, 17.5) and 3-point field goal defense (22nd, 30.6).
After earning back-to-back PSAC East Athlete of the Week honors,
Lakeem McAliley now ranks in the top 10 in the PSAC in field goals made (3rd, 139), steals per game (4th, 2.24), points per game (7th, 18.0), field goal percentage (7th, 54.7%) free throws made (10th, 81) and rebounds per game (10th, 6.8).
Jaelen McGlone ranks second in the conference and 11th nationally in steals per game (2.43) and fifth in field goal percentage (55.2%), leading ESU in both categories.
Justin Paz, who recorded his 1000th career point against Shepherd on Saturday, continues to lead the league in assist-to-turnover ratio, ranking 12th in NCAA DII (3.38).
With ESU's potent full-court press ranking 11th in NCAA DII in steals, McGlone (2.43), McAliley (2.24) and
Cam Young (1.71) each rank in the top-10 of the PSAC in steals per contest.
The Warriors return to action on Sat., Feb. 10 against West Chester. Game time at Koehler Fieldhouse is set for 3:00 p.m.
NABC Division II Coaches Poll (Feb. 6, 2024 – Regular Season Poll #11)
| Rank |
School |
Record |
Points |
Previous |
| 1 |
West Texas A&M (16) |
20-1 |
400 |
1 |
| 2 |
Nova Southeastern, Fla. |
17-2 |
381 |
3 |
| 3 |
Fort Lewis, Colo. |
19-2 |
359 |
4 |
| 4 |
DBU, Texas |
18-2 |
339 |
5 |
| 5 |
Minnesota State |
21-2 |
324 |
2 |
| 6 |
North Georgia |
18-2 |
323 |
6 |
| 7 |
West Georgia |
19-2 |
288 |
8 |
| 8 |
Gannon, Pa. |
19-2 |
280 |
9 |
| 9 |
MSU Moorhead, Minn. |
19-3 |
257 |
12 |
| 10 |
Colorado Mesa |
17-3 |
241 |
13 |
| 11 |
East Stroudsburg, Pa. |
19-2 |
227 |
15 |
| 12 |
Northwest Missouri State |
17-4 |
214 |
16 |
| 13 |
Saint Martin's, Wash. |
18-3 |
205 |
7 |
| 14 |
Benedict, S.C. |
17-3 |
169 |
11 |
| 15 |
Minot State, N.D. |
18-4 |
161 |
19 |
| 16 |
California, Pa. |
18-3 |
160 |
14 |
| 17 |
Colorado School of Mines |
19-4 |
158 |
10 |
| 18 |
Cal State Dominguez Hills |
18-3 |
140 |
22 |
| 19 |
Chico State, Calif. |
16-4 |
102 |
23 |
| 20 |
St. Thomas Aquinas, N.Y. |
17-3 |
95 |
25 |
| 21 |
Charleston, W.Va. |
16-3 |
88 |
NR |
| 22 |
Minnesota Duluth |
18-5 |
73 |
NR |
| 23 |
Fort Hays State, Kan. |
16-5 |
51 |
24 |
| 24 |
USC Aiken, S.C. |
16-4 |
38 |
21 |
| 25 |
Lander, S.C. |
16-4 |
30 |
18 |
Others receiving votes: Emmanuel (Ga.) 28, Ferris State (Mich.) 17, Northern Michigan 15, Indianapolis (Ind.) 10, Lubbock Christian (Texas) 7, West Liberty (W.Va.) 5, Washburn (Kan.) 4, Cal State LA 3, Cedarville (Ohio) 3, Saint Michael's (Vt.) 3, Catawba (N.C.) 1, Concord (W.Va.) 1.
Dropped out: West Liberty (17), Ferris State (20).
D2CSC Media Poll (Tuesday, February 6, 2024 -- Regular Season Poll #11
| Rank |
Team |
W-L |
Points |
Prev. |
| 1 |
West Texas A&M (10) |
20-1 |
391 |
2 |
| 2 |
Nova Southeastern (2) |
17-2 |
379 |
3 |
| 3 |
Minnesota State (4) |
21-2 |
365 |
1 |
| 4 |
Gannon |
19-2 |
328 |
7 |
| 5 |
Dallas Baptist |
18-2 |
324 |
6 |
| 6 |
North Georgia |
18-2 |
308 |
8 |
| 7 |
East Stroudsburg |
19-2 |
277 |
5 |
| 8 |
West Georgia |
19-2 |
265 |
12 |
| 9 |
Northwest Missouri State |
17-4 |
239 |
11 |
| 9 |
Saint Martin's |
18-3 |
239 |
4 |
| 11 |
MSU Moorhead |
19-3 |
235 |
9 |
| 12 |
St. Thomas Aquinas |
17-3 |
224 |
14 |
| 13 |
Fort Lewis |
19-2 |
214 |
15 |
| 14 |
Cal State Dominguez Hills |
18-3 |
181 |
22 |
| 15 |
Lander |
16-4 |
155 |
13 |
| 16 |
Northern Michigan |
17-6 |
143 |
17 |
| 17 |
Colorado Mesa |
17-3 |
128 |
23 |
| 18 |
Charleston (W.Va.) |
16-3 |
117 |
RV |
| 19 |
California (Pa.) |
18-3 |
104 |
10 |
| 20 |
Ferris State |
17-5 |
94 |
18 |
| 21 |
Florida Southern |
16-6 |
87 |
21 |
| 22 |
Colorado School of Mines |
19-4 |
70 |
19 |
| 23 |
Benedict |
15-2 |
69 |
20 |
| T24 |
Chico State |
16-4 |
48 |
RV |
| T24 |
Minot State |
18-4 |
48 |
NR |
| T24 |
Emmanuel |
19-4 |
48 |
NR |
Others receiving votes: USC Aiken (S.C.) 43, Saint Michael's (Vt.) 34, Cedarville (Ohio) 12, West Liberty (W.Va.) 12, Cal State San Bernardino 6, Fort Hays State (Kan.) 3.
D2CSC Atlantic Region Media Poll (Monday, February 5, 2024 -- Regular Season Poll #11
| Rank |
Team |
W-L |
Pts. |
Prev. |
| 1 |
Gannon (4) |
19-2 |
58 |
2 |
| 2 |
East Stroudsburg (2) |
19-2 |
55 |
1 |
| 3 |
Charleston |
16-3 |
46 |
5 |
| 4 |
California (Pa.) |
18-3 |
45 |
3 |
| 5 |
Millersville |
16-4 |
35 |
7 |
| 6 |
West Liberty |
15-5 |
21 |
4 |
| T-7 |
Concord |
13-4 |
20 |
9 |
| T-7 |
West Virginia State |
14-5 |
20 |
10 |
| 9 |
Fairmont State |
15-5 |
18 |
6 |
| 10 |
Indiana (Pa.) |
14-6 |
8 |
8 |
Others receiving votes: Lock Haven - 3; Winston-Salem State - 1
