Wittenberg men’s basketball ranked in top 25 for first time in six years

The Wittenberg Tigers moved into the top 25 of the D3Hoops.com men's basketball poll Tuesday for the first time in six years.

An 83-70 victory over No. 19 Marietta on Saturday at Pam Evans Smith Arena gave Wittenberg an 11-0 start and pushed it from unranked to No. 17 in the latest poll. It is one of six undefeated teams in the top 25. Marietta fell to No. 25.

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Wittenberg was last ranked in the final poll of the 2011-12 season. It finished No. 11 after a 24-7 season that saw it reach the national quarterfinals.

This is Wittenberg’s best start since 1993-94 when the Tigers reached 26-0 in former coach Bill Brown’s first season and current coach Matt Croci’s senior season.

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Wittenberg returns to action at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at Kenyon. The Tigers share first place in the North Coast Athletic Conference with No. 9 Ohio Wesleyan (9-2, 4-0). The Battling Bishops almost beat No. 1 Whitman on Saturday, losing 92-90 in Las Vegas, Nev., at the D3Hoops.com Classic.