The North Central Missouri College Pirates, sitting at a nationwide best 14-0 after the first six weeks of the season, have surged to the top spot in Monday’s NJCAA Division Two men’s basketball rankings.
While the victories in December have been decidedly closer for North Central, the wins did indeed continue to pile up, including a pair of hard-fought victories over Johnson County (Kansas) and Highland (Kansas) over the first few days of December. The Highland win sent the Pirates into their Christmas break, with the first practice back from break set for January 1st, and the first game of 2025 for the Pirates on Wednesday, January 8th in a rematch at 14th-ranked Johnson County (Overland Park, Kansas) on KGOZ FM 101.7. This will be a doubleheader, with the men’s game preceded by a women’s contest featuring the 2nd ranked Johnson County and the 16th ranked Lady Pirates.
In the latest national rankings from the NJCAA office in Charlotte, North Carolina, North Central received all 11 first place votes and 225 points, outdistancing the 211 points of second-place Kirkwood (Iowa). Formerly in the #1 position, Davidson-Davie (North Carolina) fell to #3 after suffering its first loss of the season. The ascension to #1 for the Pirates is the first time the program has reached those heights since a two-month stay atop the poll in the 2019-2020 season.
Macomb Community College from the Detroit metro area is ranked fourth and Parkland College fifth in this week’s poll. Des Moines Area is 7th, Ellsworth (Iowa) 9th, Johnson County (Kansas) 14th, St. Louis Community College 18th, and Iowa Western CC 21st. Kansas City Kansas, National Park College, North Iowa Area, and Iowa Central are among squads receiving votes.
A second loss of the season to 7th ranked and unbeaten Highland (Kansas) dropped the Lady Pirates one spot to #16 in the country, with 90 points and a 7-3 record. The only other setback for the NCMC women was to Highland’s Jayhawk Conference rival, Allen County Community College.
Kirkwood Community College of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, sitting at 11-0, is ranked #1 in the country, with all 11 first place votes and 225 points. Johnson County (Kansas) is second with 216 points, followed by CCBC (Community College of Baltimore County) Essex is third, Union College (New Jersey) fourth, and Lincoln Land (Springfield, Illinois) fifth.
Highland Community College, now sitting at 14-0, is in 7th place, matching the 14-0 mark of conference and region rival Johnson County. Allen County is also unbeaten, with an 11-0 record placing the Red Devils, out of Iola, Kansas, at #11. North Iowa is ranked 16th, with Neosho County (Kansas) 20th and Ellsworth (Iowa) 24th.
The Lady Pirates have three games over the next three days in Florida, and will play three games over the final few days of 2024 at the Illinois Central Tournament in East Peoria, Illinois.