WEST PLAINS, Mo. – For the first time in its history, the Missouri State University-West Plains Grizzly Basketball team will finish the regular season as the No. 1 junior college team in the nation!
The Grizzlies (26-2) were the unanimous choice as the nation’s top team in today’s National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) rankings for Division I men’s basketball. It is the last poll of the 2010-2011 season.
“As always, it is a compliment to the university, the community, our players and our staff to be ranked the No. 1 team in the country. But what makes this ranking so special is that we’ve been ranked No. 1 four weeks in a row,” Grizzly Basketball Head Coach Yancey Walker said.
Until this season, the highest the Grizzlies had ever been ranked by the NJCAA during the regular season was No. 2 in the Feb. 15, 2000, poll. They surpassed that mark on Feb. 1, 2011, when they earned the No. 1 ranking for the first time in program history; they’ve maintained that ranking each week since then.
“Our young men deserve a lot of credit because they’ve endured four weeks of everybody’s best shot,” Walker said. “It’s like we say all the time, when a team plays the No. 1 ranked team in the country, it’s their Superbowl, and we’ve had four Superbowls in a row, with three of them being highly competitive road games in our region.”
On Feb. 5, the Grizzlies had to overcome a double-digit, first-half deficit to beat Moberly Area Community College in Moberly, Mo., then they had to hold off a late, second-half charge by Three Rivers Community College Feb. 12 in Poplar Bluff, Mo. On Feb. 16, it took overtime before the Grizzlies could put away State Fair Community College in Sedalia, Mo.
“We’ve defended the No. 1 ranking almost a month, and now with the postseason just around the corner, we have the opportunity to prove the voters were right about us,” Walker said.
“The Grizzly Basketball team continues to make history this season,” Missouri State-West Plains Chancellor Drew Bennett said. “We are very proud of the team’s performance. I encourage everyone – students, faculty, staff and community members – to come out for the last game of the season Saturday, Feb. 26, to show support for this talented group of athletes!”
The Grizzly Basketball program began in 1993, and its teams have competed at the NJCAA’s Division I level since its inception. The program is part of NJCAA’s Region 16, which also includes Three Rivers Community College, Poplar Bluff, Mo.; State Fair Community College, Sedalia, Mo.; Mineral Area College, Park Hills, Mo.; and Moberly Area Community College, Moberly, Mo. The Grizzlies have won two Region 16 titles and recorded numerous wins over highly competitive and nationally-ranked teams over the years.
For more information about the Grizzly Basketball program, visit the team’s website at http://www.wp.missouristate.edu/grizzly/bb.htm or call the Grizzly Basketball office at 417-255-7993.