Daemen Men's Basketball Opens Season At #4 In NABC Coaches' Poll

Release courtesy of Daemen University Sports Information AMHERST, N.Y. – On the heels of the most successful season in program history, the Daemen University men's basketball team will open the 2025-26 campaign with a top five national ranking. The Wildcats are ranked fourth in the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Division II Preseason Poll released today. It marks the highest preseason ranking of the program's NCAA Division II era.  Daemen returns 13 players, including three starters and their top four scorers, from last season's team that posted a 28-1 overall record and an unblemished 16-0 mark in East Coast Conference play, en route to the ECC regular season and tournament championships and a four-week run as the number one ranked team in Division II. The Wildcats garnered 291 points in the preseason poll voting, and were the only team to receive a first-place vote other than defending national champions and preseason No. 1 Nova Southeastern (399 points). No. 2 Washburn (326 points) and No. 3 Dallas Baptist (325 points) join NSU as the only teams to outrank Daemen at the season's outset.  Daemen's 2025-26 schedule includes three games against teams included in the preseason poll, beginning with their regular season opener this Saturday, Nov. 1 against No. 19 Lenoir-Rhyne. The Wildcats and Bears meet as part of the prestigious Small College Basketball Hall of Fame Classic in Lakeland, Fla. Daemen will also host No. 5 Fairmont State in a big, early-season matchup on Nov. 18 at Lumsden Gymnasium. The Wildcats will visit preseason No. 22 Gannon on Jan. 21.  In addition, Daemen hosts a pair of non-conference games against teams that are receiving votes in the preseason poll, welcoming defending East Region champion Assumption (Dec. 17) and Adelphi (Jan. 1) to Lumsden Gymnasium. Fellow ECC member St. Thomas Aquinas is also receiving votes; the Wildcats and Spartans renew their rivalry Dec. 14 (at STAC) and Feb. 15 (at Daemen).  Consensus All-American Benjamin Bill (Hamburg, N.Y.), All-ECC and All-East Region selection Justin Hemphill (Buffalo, N.Y.), and All-ECC picks Justin Glover (Buffalo, N.Y.) and Zach Philipkoski (New Hartford, N.Y.) headline the Daemen returners. The quartet accounted for more than 50% of the Wildcats' scoring, rebounding and assists a season ago.  Bill netted 17 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in Daemen's 75-48 win over Division III Nazareth in exhibition action this past Saturday at KeyBank Center in downtown Buffalo. Philipkoski nailed five three-pointers as part of a 16-point outing, and Hemphill stuffed the stat sheet with nine points, seven boards, four assists, one block and one steal.  After facing Lenoir-Rhyne to officially open the season this Saturday, Daemen will face Alaska Anchorage to close their two-game trip to Florida. The Wildcats return to home action Nov. 14 and 15 when they host the East Region Challenge presented by Western New York Knee and Orthopedic Surgery.
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