Ranger climbs to No. 7 in latest NJCAA basketball poll

The Ranger College men's basketball team accomplished a historic feat on Dec. 11: They cracked the national top 10 in the NJCAA Division I poll.

Ranger, which entered the season ranked No. 25 nationally, turned a convincing victory over Odessa College a few days earlier into a No.7 ranking in the latest NJCAA rankings. The poll of college coaches and administrators is updated weekly during the season.

The No. 7 ranking marks the highest position Ranger College has held in the poll in more than a decade. The highest the team had been previously reached was No. 11 during the 2016-17 season, its first under the direction of head coach Billy Gillispie.

Fresh off a 101-70 rout of Arkansas Baptist on Dec. 11 at Cedar Valley College in Lancaster, Ranger College is 13-1 heading into the holiday break.

The Rangers were one of three Texas colleges in the top 10 in the poll. South Plains College vaulted into the No. 1 spot following a loss by Northwest Florida State last week. The Texans, a member of Region V's Western Junior College Athletic Conference, are 10-0 overall. Trinity Valley was ranked No. 10 overall.

Vincennes College of Indiana and Coffeyville College ok Kansas were ranked No. 2 and No. 3, respectively. Northwest Florida State slipped to No. 4.

The complete rankings can be viewed at: http://www.njcaa.org/sports/mbkb/2018-19/div1/polls