NABC Teams of the Week #6: Jan. 15-21
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (January 23, 2018) – Southern Methodist University, the University of North Carolina at Pembroke, the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, Saint Francis University (Ind.) and Vincennes University (Ind.) have been named the NABC Teams of the Week for games played Jan. 15-21.
NCAA Division I – SMU
Head Coach: Tim Jankovich
SMU earned a pair of key American Athletic Conference victories last week. On Wednesday, the Mustangs shot 63.8-percent from the field en route to an 83-78 upset win at Wichita State, which ended the seventh-ranked Shockers’ 27-game home unbeaten streak. Then on Saturday, SMU defeated Tulane 73-62, improving to 4-3 in AAC play.
NCAA Division II – UNC Pembroke
Head Coach: Ben Miller
UNC Pembroke went a perfect 3-0, beating Peach Belt rivals Georgia Southwestern, USC Aiken and Clayton State in succession to stretch their winning streak to nine games. UNCP opened the week with a convincing 78-57 win at Georgia Southwestern on Monday, followed by a 93-87 victory at USC Aiken on Wednesday. The Braves concluded their unbeaten week on Saturday with an 85-65 win over Clayton State. UNCP is now 14-3 overall and 10-1 in conference games this season.
NCAA Division III – Wisconsin-Stevens Point
Head Coach: Bob Semling
UW-Stevens Point remained undefeated in WIAC play after defeating state rivals Wisconsin-Whitewater and Wisconsin-Platteville, which entered their matchups with UWSP with combined records of 27-4. On Wednesday, the Pointers won at second-ranked Whitewater 75-69 after forcing 20 Warhawk turnovers, then returned home on Saturday for an 80-74 victory over Platteville. The wins improved UWSP to 12-5 overall.
NAIA – Saint Francis (Ind.)
Head Coach: Chad LaCross
Saint Francis improved to 18-1 in its last 19 games with a pair of wins over top-15 opponents last week. On Tuesday, the Cougars jumped out to a 22-point halftime lead in an 82-60 victory against No. 13 Spring Arbor. Saint Francis followed that performance on Saturday with a 72-70 win over No. 11 Bethel in a game that saw the Cougars commit just five turnovers.
NJCAA/Two-Year Colleges – Vincennes (Ind.)
Head Coach: Todd Franklin
Two wins by an average of 40.5 points last week has Vincennes sitting at the top of the District 16 standings. VU’s wins came against Division I opponents Lewis & Clark (102-60) and Lake Land (100-61), which was receiving votes in the top 25. Vincennes is now 19-0 on the season with a 9-0 District 16 record, and is ranked No. 3 in NJCAA Division I.