The Augusta State men’s basketball squad has ascended to the top of the national rankings for the second time this season.

The Jaguars climbed to No. 1 Tuesday in the 14th NABC/Coaches Poll of the 2009-10 season, according to a release from the NABC national office in Kansas City, Mo.

In their sixth season under head coach Dip Metress, the Jaguars wrapped up the 2009-10 regular season on Saturday, Feb. 27 with an 82-55 Senior Night victory over Lander. They extended their home winning streak to 28 straight and have now won 24 or more games in each of the last four seasons.

ASU (25-2) hosts Armstrong Atlantic State (12-15) in the quarterfinals of the Peach Belt Conference Men’s Basketball Championship on Wednesday, March 3 at 7:00 p.m., in Christenberry Fieldhouse. The winner advances to Saturday’s 6:00 p.m., tourney semifinal at USC Aiken’s Convocation Center.

The No. 1 ranking matches the highest in school history for any of ASU’s 11 varsity sports. The Jags originally earned the top spot in the national rankings – the first in the program’s 45 years of existence — on Tuesday, Jan. 12. The ranking also marked the first time in the Peach Belt Conference’s 20-year history that a men’s basketball team has been ranked No. 1 in the nation.

ASU has now cracked the top five of the national rankings 17 times under head coach Dip Metress. The Jags have appeared in the top 25 for a school-record 49 consecutive weeks, dating back to the 2006-07 campaign. The Jags have been ranked in the top 20 for 38 consecutive weeks and have appeared among the nation’s top 10 in 31 of the last 33 polls.

ASU is one of two Peach Belt Conference members to appear in the national rankings. Georgia College & State moved up from No. 17 to No. 14.

NABC/Coaches Poll
(as of Sunday, Feb. 28, 2010)
					Record  Pts.  Pvs.
1.  AUGUSTA STATE (4)			25-2 	194 	3
2.  Arkansas Tech (4) 			26-1 	187 	1
3.  Kentucky Wesleyan 			28-3 	179 	4
4.  Central Missouri 			25-2 	177 	2
5.  Indiana (Pa.) 			25-2 	170 	6
6.  Midwestern State (Texas) 		25-2 	163 	7
7.  Valdosta State (Ga.) 		24-3 	152 	8
8.  Minnesota State 			24-3 	142 	5
9.  Seattle Pacific (Wash.) 		22-3 	136 	9
10. West Liberty (W.Va.) 		25-1 	127 	12
11. Southern Indiana 			24-3 	124 	10
12. Florida Southern 			24-3 	115 	11
13. Fort Hays State (Kan.) 		22-5 	107 	15
14. Georgia College & State 		22-4 	91 	17
15. Augustana (S.D.) 			22-5 	80 	19
16. Stonehill (Mass.) 			23-4 	75 	18
17. Rollins (Fla.) 			22-5 	63 	13
18. West Virginia State 		24-3 	53 	21
19. Bentley (Mass.) 			22-5 	43 	14
20. Clark Atlanta (Ga.) 		22-5 	42 	20
21. Western Washington 			24-5 	40 	24
22. Drury (Mo.) 			23-5 	33 	22
23. Mesa State (Colo.) 			22-4 	31 	23
24. St. Cloud State (Minn.) 		22-5 	29 	16
25. Central Oklahoma 			22-5 	15 	NR

Dropped out: Kutztown (25)
Others receiving votes: Metropolitan State (Colo.) 11, Bellarmine (Ky.) 6, Mount Olive (N.C.) 5, St.
Augustine’s (N.C.) 5, East Stroudsburg (Pa.) 4, Kutztown (Pa.) 1.
*Records are through games of Feb. 28, 2010; previous ranking is from Feb. 23 poll.

--Courtesy ASU Athletics