EAST STROUDSBURG, Pa. -- East Stroudsburg is ranked No. 8 in this week's NABC coaches' poll, attaining the highest ranking in program history.
The Warriors (15-0), in the midst of the longest unbeaten start to a season in school history, moved up two spots from No. 10, where they resided the past two weeks.
ESU's previous high-water mark was No. 9 on Feb. 12, 2013. This is the fifth week the Warriors have been ranked in the top 10 in school history, all in the past 12 months.ESU enters this week tied for the longest active winning streak in Division II at 15 games. Florida Southern, ranked No. 3 in this week's poll, has also won 15 in a row. Drury, the defending NCAA DII champion, saw its streak of 34 consecutive wins end with a loss at No. 2 Bellarmine last week.
ESU's 15-0 start is also the best in the PSAC since 1994-95, when IUP opened 21-0.
The Warriors beat Pitt-Johnstown (81-68) on the road and Shippensburg (101-71) at home last week, surpassing their 2009-10 team which opened with a 13-0 record. They also moved past the 1940-41 and 2012-13 teams which held the single-season winning streak record at 14 games.
This marks ESU's seventh consecutive week in the NABC top 25, and fifth in the top 12. The Warriors entered at No. 23 on Nov. 26, the earliest in program history.
The Warriors, under 12th-year head coach Jeff Wilson, are ranked in the top five in DII in four categories entering this week – 2nd in turnover margin (+8.6), 3rd in scoring margin (+21.4) and 4th in both steals per game (10.9) and three-point defense (27.1). ESU is also ranked 10th in assists per game with 18.3.
ESU also leads the PSAC in nine categories – scoring margin, scoring offense (88.2 ppg), field goal percentage (47.5), three-point percentage (39.3), steals, turnover margin, assists, assist-to-turnover ratio (1.56) and fewest turnovers (11.7 per game).
