High Point MB Earns First Ever Spot In Mid-Major Top 25 Poll

HIGH POINT, N.C. – In recognition of the program’s best start in the Division I era, the High Point University men’s basketball team has earned its first ever ranking in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 poll.

HPU debuts at the No. 22 spot in the poll, ahead of Georgia Southern (No. 23), Akron (No. 24) and Albany (No. 25). Gonzaga tops the Feb. 2 poll, followed by Northern Iowa (No. 2), Wichita State (No. 3), Stephen. F Austin (No. 4) and Murray State (No. 5).

The Panthers are winners of three-straight games and 11 of their last 13 contests. HPU is 17-5 for the first time since 1995-96 and 8-2 in the Big South for the first time in program history. The Panthers are No. 95 in Monday’s NCAA RPI Report on the strength of a 9-4 record in road and neutral site contests in 2014-15.

The Purple & White won the Rainbow Classic to open the season in Hawai’i and finished non-conference play with a 9-3 record before winning eight of their first 10 league games.

High Point sits in first place in the Big South standings through 10 league games. HPU has won the last two Big South regular season championships and has advanced to post-season play in each of the past two seasons. The Panthers reached the NIT in 2014 and earned a berth in the CIT in 2013.

High Point has won 20 of its past 24 Big South games and is 32-10 in conference play since the start of the 2012-13 season.

The Panthers return to action with a home contest against Radford on Tuesday. The 7 p.m. contest will air live on ESPN3.

Note: Now in its 16th season of existence, the Mid-Major Poll is made up of teams from the following conferences: America East, Atlantic Sun, Big Sky, Big South, Big West, Colonial, Horizon, Independents, Ivy, Metro Atlantic, Mid-American, Mid-Eastern, Missouri Valley, Northeast, Ohio Valley, Patriot, Southern, Southland, Southwestern, Summit, Sun Belt, West Coast, Western Athletic. The poll is voted on by a 31-member panel of head coaches from different mid-major universities across the nation.