The following “Starting Five” points offer a quick look inside GLVC men’s basketball action this week:
STARTING FIVE
[1 | cross-divisional play continues]
Cross-divisional play
continues for one more week, with this week's featured series being GLVC West leaders Quincy (20-4, 10-3 GLVC) and Truman State (17-6, 9-4) traveling to UW-Parkside (18-4, 10-3) and Lewis (15-8, 10-3), which are both tied for third in the East. The Hawks and Rangers will battle in Kenosha on Thursday, while the Flyers host the Bulldogs. East leaders Bellarmine (20-3, 12-1) and Southern Indiana (21-2, 11-2) travel to St. Louis for matchups against Maryville (8-17, 2-11) and UMSL (10-13, 4-9).
[2 | bellarmine, southern indiana ranked in top 25 poll]
Two GLVC teams are represented in this week’s /NABCNCAA Division II Men’s Basketball Poll, it was announced Tuesday. No. 7 Bellarmine (20-3, 12-1 GLVC) advanced one position from eighth, while No. 15 Southern Indiana (21-2, 11-2) moved up two spots. UW-Parkside (18-4, 10-3) is currently receiving votes outside the poll. For a complete look at the NABC Division II Coaches Poll,
click here.
[3 | the trio at twenty]
Three GLVC teams reached the 20-win mark for the season last week, as Southern Indiana improved to 21-2, Bellarmine moved to 20-3, and Quincy got to 20-4. Perhaps what is most remarkable about the trio at 20 wins is that three teams have not reached that mark at this point in the season over the last 10 years. In fact, no team had recorded 20 wins by the first week of February since Bellarmine moved to 20-1 entering the second week of February during the 2011-12 season. Prior to that season, two teams had reached 20 wins by this date in both the 2010-11 and 2009-10 campaigns. Currently, there are just 16 NCAA Division II programs with 20 or more wins this year.
[4 | double the fun]
Quincy senior Joseph Tagarelli
was named GLVC Player of the Week on Monday, after averaging 28.5 points, 10.5 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 2.0 steals and 2.0 blocks in two league wins last week. Tagarelli, who garnered his third career weekly honor, was one of five standouts to average a double-double last week. Teammate Evan McGaughey posted averages of 17.0 points and 10.5 rebounds, while Lewis’ Cristen Wilson turned in 17.0 points and 11.5 rebounds over his two games last week. Southern Indiana’s Jeril Taylor netted 23.5 points and grabbed 10.0 boards each time out, and McKendree’s David Franklin ended the week averaging 19.5 points and 10.0 caroms.
[5 | glvc represented among ncaa statistical leaders]
In the latest
NCAA statistical report released Monday, a number of GLVC teams and student-athletes currently rank among the nation’s best in select categories. The GLVC remains the hottest shooting league in NCAA Division II, holding down the nation’s top field goal percentage this week. The GLVC as a whole leads the other 23 Division II conferences with a nation-leading 47.67 field goal percentage (10,194-21,385), ranking ahead of the Mountain East (47.22) and Northern Sun (47.11). GLVC teams have also combined for a 38.05 three-point field goal percentage (3,052-8,021) and a 73.73 free-throw percentage (4,653-6,311) that rank second nationally. To emphasize that nation’s-best field-goal percentage, five GLVC programs rank in the top 25 nationally in that category, including No. 2 Bellarmine (53.3), No. 6 Quincy (52.1), No. 16 Truman State (50.4), No. 17 UW-Parkside (50.2), and No. 18 Southern Indiana (49.9). Beyond the arc, five teams rank in the top 25, including No. 2 Truman (43.3), No. 4 Bellarmine (42.7), No. 13 USI (41.6), No. 20 UW-Parkside (41.0), and No. 24 UIndy (40.5). Among the other national notables, Southern Indiana is fifth overall in scoring margin (19.7) and rebound margin (10.5), and seventh in scoring offense (92.4), while Bellarmine is second in free-throw percentage (80.3) and sixth in assists per game (19.3). Individually, UIndy’s Eric Davidson (93.7) is fourth in free-throw percentage and Quincy’s Herm Senor (6.5) is 10th in assists per game.