Men’s Basketball: North Central holds on to No. 1 ranking
FROM STAFF REPORTS January 7, 2013 8:28PM
The North Central College men’s basketball team remains the No. 1-ranked Division III program in the nation for the second straight week, sitting atop this week’s Top 25 Poll released by D3hoops.com.
The Cardinals ascended to the No. 1 spot for the first time in their history last week and solidified their position after opening CCIW play with a pair of wins last week. North Central defeated Elmhurst College, 71-51, on Wednesday before posting a 69-55 victory over then-No. 8 Wheaton College on Saturday.
Owning an unblemished 13-0 record, the Cardinals are off to the best start in the program’s history. North Central opened the season with 12 straight wins in 2005-2006.
North Central received 609 points and 14 of the 25 first-place votes in this week’s poll. The University of St. Thomas (Minn.) is second with 594 points and five first-place votes, while Middlebury College (Vt.) is third with 593 points and six first-place votes. The top five is rounded out by the University of Rochester (N.Y.) and Whitworth University (Wash.)
North Central travels to face Carthage College (5-8, 0-2 CCIW) on Wednesday. Tipoff at Tarble Arena is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
Kmiec named Player of Week — North Central’s Vince Kmiec, a junior from Sandburg, has been selected as the CCIW Men’s Basketball Player of the Week for Dec. 31-Jan. 6.
Kmiec helped lead the Cardinals to victories in their first two conference games of the season. He put up 12 points, five rebounds, two assists and two steals in a win at Elmhurst College on Wednesday before tying a career high with 20 points and adding six rebounds and three steals in a 69-55 victory over Wheaton College on Saturday.
Kmiec, who has started all 13 games and averaged 11.5 points, 4.0 rebounds and a team-high 2.2 steals per game this season, is the third Cardinal to earn CCIW Player of the Week honors this season. Landon Gamble, a junior from Lockport, was honored on Nov. 26 and Derek Raridon, a senior from Neuqua Valley, received the distinction on Dec. 17.
