COMPLETE D3HOOPS.COM POLL
TERRE HAUTE, IND. -- The Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology men's basketball team is ranked 23rd nationally in the latest d3hoops.com national weekly poll released on Monday.
Rose-Hulman is ranked in the No. 23 position for the third time this season and achieved its highest men's basketball national ranking since 1999 at the No. 18 spot. The Fightin' Engineers are also the only Indiana school to receive votes in the d3hoops.com men's basketball national poll.
Rose-Hulman completed the regular season with a 22-3 record and a 16-2 mark in Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference play. The Fightin' Engineers earned their first men's basketball outright regular season championship since 1999 and secured hosting rights for this week's HCAC Tournament with a 59-57 win at Hanover on Saturday.
The Fightin' Engineers continue to rank No. 1 nationally in the weekly NCAA Division III rankings in defense, allowing just 50.4 points per game. Rose-Hulman has held 11 opponents to 45 points or less and seven opponents to 40 points or less in a game.
Offensively, junior Julian Strickland leads the team in scoring at 14.4 points per game, with senior Austin Weatherford also in double figures at 12.5. The starting lineup also includes senior Jon Gerken (7.2), senior Brenton Balsbaugh (6.6) and junior James Pillischafske (4.2). Nate Gissentanner has provided a spark off the bench at 7.8 points per game.
Rose-Hulman hosts the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament at Hulbert Arena, and will face the winner of Tuesday's matchup between Defiance and Franklin on Friday at 8 p.m. Live in-game stats and live video for the entire HCAC Tournament will be available online at www.rose-hulman.edu/sports.