AUGUSTA, Ga. -- Augusta State improved two spots in the latest NABC/Division II Coaches Poll, released Tuesday afternoon from the NABC national headquarters in Kansas City, Mo.

The Jaguars are ranked No. 12 in the nation after spending the previous two weeks at the No. 14 spot. ASU spent the first three weeks of the season in the top 10, reaching as high as the No. 5 spot.

ASU (6-2) returned from a 10-day layoff with a 83-47 victory over Paine College on Thursday, Dec. 13. The Jags then traveled to Richmond, Va., and defeated the No. 22 Panthers 76-74 on a tip-in from senior All-American Tyrekus “AJ” Bowman on Saturday, Dec. 15.

The top five in the poll remained unchanged, with Bentley (Mass.) leading the way at No. 1, followed by Grand Valley State (Mich.), South Dakota, Rollins (Fla.) and Winona State (Minn.). Drury (Mo.), Seattle (Wash.), Southwestern Oklahoma State, BYU-Hawaii and Cal State-San Bernardino round out the top 10.
 

NABC/Coaches Poll
(records are through Sunday, Dec. 16)

                                        Record     Points    Pvs

1.  Bentley (Mass.) (6)                   9-0       198       1
2.  Grand Valley State (Mich.) (2)       10-0       191       2
3.  South Dakota                         10-0       185       3
4.  Rollins (Fla.)                        6-0       173       4
5.  Winona State (Minn.)                 10-1       169       5
6.  Drury (Mo.)                           7-0       155       7
7.  Seattle (Wash.)                       5-0       145       9
8.  Southwestern Oklahoma State           9-0       136       10
9.  BYU-Hawaii                            4-0       129       11
10. Cal State-San Bernardino              7-1       125       6
11. Northwest Missouri State              6-1       124       13
12. AUGUSTA STATE                         6-2       112       14
13. USC Aiken                             7-0       103       15
14. St. Cloud State (Minn.)               9-1       98        8
15. Findlay (Ohio)                        6-2       87        16
16. Pittsburg State (Kan.)                6-0       81        17
17. Seattle Pacific (Wash.)               4-1       72        19
18. Nebraska-Omaha                        8-1       59        12
19. West Liberty State (W. Va.)           7-0       51        23
20. Florida Tech                          8-0       45        24
21. Central Oklahoma                      8-2       41        21
22. Mount Olive (N.C.)                    4-1       35        20
23. Emporia State (Kan.)                  4-2       21        18
24. Northern State (S.D.)                10-1       18        NR
25. Washburn (Kan.)                       6-1       9         NR

Others receiving votes: Virginia Union 8, Indianapolis (Ind.) 4, Alderson-Broaddus (W. Va.) 2, Indiana (Pa.) 2, Lenoir-Rhyne (N.C) 2, Northwest Nazarene (Idaho) 2, LIU-C.W. Post (N.Y.), 1, West Georgia 1.
*First-place votes in parentheses