Dec. 14, 2009

Cullowhee, N.C. - Following three wins last week including road victories over Bradley and Louisville and a home triumph over Campbell, the Western Carolina Catamount men's basketball team moved to eighth in the latest CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 poll released today. The Catamounts have the best winning percentage among teams inside the top 12 of the poll, which is in its 11th season of ranking teams.*

Additionally, the Catamounts were also receiving votes in both the USA Today/ESPN Coaches' Poll (47th) and Associated Press (51st) Top 25 polls that were released on Monday afternoon.

WCU debuted on the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major rankings at 24th two weeks ago before advancing to 15th on the ledger on Dec. 7. Both of the aforementioned rankings were the highest in school history prior to today's listing. The Catamounts were among those receiving votes on two occasions last season.

Western Carolina (10-1) earned road wins over Bradley - which boasted an 81.7 winning percentage against non-conference foes at Carver Arena - and at Louisville, which has an 83.1-percent win rate in 54 seasons in Freedom Hall, last week. The Cardinals, which have dropped consecutive home games, were a number one seed in the NCAA tournament a year ago and advanced to the Elite Eight.

On the strength of its fourth-straight win away from home - a 91-83 victory over Louisville which has been ranked as high as 16th this season and was 29th on Saturday - Western Carolina moved into double-digit wins on the season, matching the program's quickest to double-figure victory tally in just 11 games. The Catamounts also got to 10 wins in just 11 tries during the 1963-64 as well as during the school's best-ever start of 15-1 in 1958-59.

WCU's current nine-game winning streak is tied for the fourth-longest in the nation with the likes of Kansas, Purdue, Missouri State and Texas Tech. Only three schools - Kentucky, New Mexico and Syracuse - have a longer active winning streak at 10 games apiece.

In the latest RPI ratings, the Catamounts rank anywhere from 10th on the RealTimeRPI.com ratings to 14th by both WarrenNolan and CBSSportsRPI. The NCAA has not officially put out its RPI numbers through its web site.

In the most recent Southern Conference statistics put out Monday afternoon by the conference office, the Catamounts continue to pace the league in four categories including scoring margin (+9.5), field goal percentage defense (38.4%), turnover margin (+3.8) and steals at 10.2 spg which ranks 13th nationally. Three individuals rank among the SoCon's top seven in steals in Brigham Waginger (2nd, 2.4 spg - 45th nationally), Mike Williams (5th, 1.9 spg) and Harouna Mutombo (7th, 1.7 spg).

All told, WCU is among the top three in eight statistical categories in the SoCon.

The Catamounts will put their nine-game winning streak on the line next Tuesday, Dec. 22, as they travel to Littlejohn Coliseum to face the Clemson Tigers, which moved back in to the national rankings this week following Saturday's 29-point win over Furman. The Tigers (8-2) travel to East Carolina on Dec. 16 and host SoCon-foe College of Charleston on Dec. 19 before facing WCU, which is idle until the Tuesday tip-off in final exams.

Fans wanting to attend the game at Littlejohn should contact the Clemson Athletics Ticket office online at www.ClemsonTigers.com, or by phone at 800-CLEMSON or (864) 656-2118.

---

* NOTE ABOUT THE MID-MAJOR POLL: The Mid-Major Poll is made up of teams from the following conferences: America East, Atlantic Sun, Big Sky, Big South, Big West, Colonial, Great West, Horizon, Independents, Ivy, Metro Atlantic, Mid-American, Mid-Eastern, Missouri Valley, Northeast, Ohio Valley, Patriot, Southern, Southland, Southwestern, Summit, Sun Belt, West Coast.

Printer-friendly format	Email this article

Catamount Sports Men's Basketball