Williamstown, MA - Williams men’s basketball held steady at no. 2 in the national D3Hoops.com poll this week following two double-digit victories over Amherst and Trinity. The Ephs clinched first in the NESCAC and their second consecutive Little Three title in their victory over Amherst. The victories made the Ephs’ record 23-1, matching the team’s best regular season record in history; the 2002-2003 national championship team and the 2003-2004 national runners-up also went 23-1 in the regular season. The Ephs were jumped over by new No. 1 Washington University (St. Louis), who had been ranked third last week, after last week’s first-ranked team Guilford fell midweek. Wash. U, which currently has a 20-2 record and which repaid one of its losses by defeating Brandeis this weekend, received 13 first place votes while Williams received 12, leaving the Ephs a mere six points back in the overall voting.
The Ephs may not be No. 1 in the national polls, but they stand atop the nation in a variety of statistical categories. Williams’ 95.8 percent win percentage leads the nation; the team also stands first in the country with a 21.2 scoring margin, 52.9 percent field-goal percentage, and 46.3 percent three-point field-goal percentage. They also are sixth in the nation in scoring offense with 87 points per game and a 1.37 assist-to-turnover ratio.
Meanwhile, several Ephs lead the NESCAC in a variety of statistical categories. Co-captain Blake Schultz leads the conference in scoring with 19.3 points per game. He also stands atop the nation with a 54.5% three-point field goal percentage. James Wang is the Ephs’ second-leading scorer and is seventh in the conference with 16.3 points per game; he also stands second in the conference in assists with 4.67 per game. Troy Whittington leads the conference with a 69.8% field-goal percentage and would lead the nation if he had made six more field goals this season. Co-captain Joe Geoghegan’s 8.2 rebounds per game leads the Ephs and is third in the conference.
Middlebury is the only other NESCAC team even receiving votes in the poll; the Panthers, who stand at 21-2, also defeated Amherst and Trinity this weekend, and are ranked No. 6 in the country.
Williams is currently preparing to take on eighth-seeded Wesleyan this weekend in the NESCAC quarterfinals. Should the Ephs win, they well host the NESCAC semi-finals and finals the following weekend.
Watch the Williams vs. Wesleyan game here for free.
The full poll, through games played on Feb. 14:
| # | Team | W-L | Pts. | Last Week |
| 1 | Washington U. (13) | 20-2 | 609 | 3 |
| 2 | Williams (12) | 23-1 | 603 | 2 |
| 3 | St. Thomas | 21-2 | 563 | 4 |
| 4 | Guilford | 20-2 | 528 | 1 |
| 5 | UW-Stevens Point | 20-3 | 511 | 6 |
| 6 | Middlebury | 21-2 | 449 | 7 |
| 7 | Whitworth | 21-2 | 430 | 8 |
| 8 | William Paterson | 22-1 | 428 | 10 |
| 9 | UW-Whitewater | 19-4 | 423 | 9 |
| 10 | Virginia Wesleyan | 20-3 | 404 | 5 |
| 11 | MIT | 21-2 | 378 | 11 |
| 12 | Eastern Mennonite | 18-3 | 345 | 16 |
| 13 | Chapman | 22-2 | 330 | 12 |
| 14 | St. Norbert | 20-2 | 296 | 14 |
| 15 | Franklin and Marshall | 20-3 | 282 | 15 |
| 16 | Randolph-Macon | 19-4 | 274 | 17 |
| 17 | St. Mary's (Md.) | 18-3 | 233 | 17 |
| 18 | Anderson | 20-3 | 193 | 13 |
| 19 | Texas-Dallas | 18-4 | 183 | 20 |
| 20 | Carthage | 18-5 | 129 | 23 |
| 21 | Wooster | 18-5 | 101 | 19 |
| 22 | Cabrini | 20-2 | 90 | 24 |
| 23 | St. John Fisher | 19-4 | 75 | 25 |
| 24 | Medaille | 21-2 | 57 | — |
| 25 | John Carroll | 17-5 | 49 | — |
Dropped out: No. 21 Brandeis, No. 23 Illinois Wesleyan.
Others receiving votes: Brandeis 45, Illinois Wesleyan 31, Wittenberg 24, Central 18, Merchant Marine 17, Defiance 8, Hope 5, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps 4, Gordon 4, Wheaton (Ill.) 4, SUNY-Old Westbury 2.
Poll courtesy of D3Hoops.com
