Men's Basketball | December 22, 2023
AIKEN, S.C. – After an outstanding 8-1 start to the 2023-24 season, the University of South Carolina Aiken men's basketball team earned the No. 25 national ranking in the latest NABC poll.
Head coach
Mark Vanderslice's team picked up 45 points for the No. 25 ranking.
Defending national champion Nova Southeastern remains at No. 1 while MSU Morehead and Minnesota State round out the top three teams. West Texas A&M and Central Oklahoma complete the top five schools in the national poll.
USC Aiken has won seven straight contests after falling to then-No. 8 UNC Pembroke by six points. Since Nov. 15, the Pacers have defeated Tusculum, Limestone, Barton, Emmanuel, Claflin, St. Augustine's and Francis Marion.
For the season, the Pacers are averaging 81.6 points per game while giving up just 68.3 points. The team has drained 45.7 percent of their shots from the floor, including 39.3 percent from distance. The squad is out-rebounding opponents by nearly six a game and the sensational defense accounts for 7.2 steals a contest.
USC Aiken returns to action on Saturday, Dec. 30 for its last regular-season non-conference contest at home against Southern Wesleyan at 3:30 p.m.
| Team |
Record |
Points |
Previous Ranking |
| 1. Nova Southeastern, Fla. (15) |
9-0 |
399 |
1 |
| 2. MSU Moorhead, Minn. |
12-0 |
379 |
2 |
| 3. Minnesota State (1) |
13-0 |
371 |
3 |
| 4. West Texas A&M |
10-1 |
328 |
5 |
| 5. Central Oklahoma |
11-1 |
326 |
7 |
| 6. Saint Martin's, Wash. |
11-1 |
282 |
10 |
| 7. DBU, Texas |
9-1 |
271 |
11 |
| 8. Benedict, S.C. |
10-0 |
257 |
12 |
| 9. North Georgia |
9-1 |
254 |
14 |
| 10. California, Pa. |
10-0 |
251 |
13 |
| 11. Gannon, Pa. |
10-0 |
215 |
18 |
| 12. Fort Lewis, Colo. |
9-1 |
210 |
17 |
| 13. West Georgia |
9-1 |
207 |
4 |
| 14. Angelo State, Texas |
10-1 |
199 |
20 |
| 15. St. Thomas Aquinas, N.Y. |
11-1 |
168 |
19 |
| 16. Colorado Mesa |
8-2 |
153 |
8 |
| 17. Ferris State, Mich. |
9-2 |
144 |
23 |
| 18. Cal State San Bernardino |
8-2 |
136 |
9 |
| 19. Cal State Dominguez Hills |
9-1 |
84 |
NR |
| 20. Post, Conn. |
9-1 |
59 |
NR |
| 21. Northwest Missouri State |
8-3 |
55 |
NR |
| 22. West Liberty, W.Va. |
8-3 |
51 |
6 |
| 23. Chico State, Calif. |
7-2 |
49 |
25 |
| 24. Minnesota Duluth |
10-3 |
47 |
21 |
| 25. USC Aiken |
8-1 |
45 |
NR |
Others receiving votes: Converse (S.C.) 32, Ashland (Ohio) 30, Florida Tech 23, Emporia State (Kan.) 20, Catawba (N.C.) 17, Eastern New Mexico 16, East Stroudsburg (Pa.) 15, Lake Superior State (Mich.) 14, Colorado School of Mines 13, Concord (W.Va.) 11, Washburn (Kan.) 11, Charleston (W.Va.) 10, West Alabama 9, Lander (S.C.) 6, Minot State (N.D.) 6, Lubbock Christian (Texas) 5, Augusta (Ga.) 4, Illinois Springfield 4, Cal State East Bay 3, Saint Michael's (Vt.) 3, Dominican (N.Y.) 2 Fort Hays State (Kan.) 2, Lee (Tenn.) 1, Missouri Western 1, Southern New Hampshire 1.
