As the St. Thomas Aquinas College Men's Basketball team prepares to do battle in the upcoming East Coast Conference Tournament, the program has moved into the top 15 in both the College Sports Communicators (CSC) and National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Division II national rankings.
STAC now sits at #9 in the D2CSC rankings and #15 in the NABC standings.
The Spartans have racked up an outstanding 23-5 overall record and a 14-2 mark in the East Coast Conference, while also sitting atop the NCAA Division II East Region rankings as revealed last week.
St. Thomas Aquinas is currently being led by James Patterson (So./G&F/Richmond, Va.) - averaging 23.9 points & 8.3 rebounds per game, Kyle Pulliam (So./G/Silver Spring, Md.) - averaging 13.7 points per game, Jamal Barnes (Sr./G/Temple Hills, Md.) - averaging 11.3 points per game and Rich Smith (So./G/Bronx, N.Y.) - averaging 9.4 points, 6.5 rebounds & 5.4 assists per game.
The team's offense averages 92.4 points scored per game, while their defense surrenders an average of only 80.6 points per game.
Top seeded STAC receives a bye into the semifinal round of the East Coast Conference Men's Basketball Tournament and will next play on Saturday, March 9, against the winner of Wednesday's first round matchup between #4 Roberts Wesleyan University and #5 University of the District of Columbia. The Spartans and Redhawks or Firebirds will tip-off at noon inside of Aquinas Hall Gymnasium on the STAC campus in Sparkill.