CHICAGO, Ill. – North Park men's basketball is back in the national conversation after receiving votes in the D3hoops.com Top 25 Week 2 Poll. This is the first time the program has received votes in the poll since the 2016-17 season, where the Vikings climbed as high as No. 9 and finished as co-champions of the College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin (CCIW).
North Park is off to a 6-1 start and a perfect 2-0 in CCIW action with its lone loss arriving on Nov. 19 against (RV) Hope College. Bolstering that record, the Vikings have been road warriors, playing six of seven games away from home.
The Vikings' 90-56 win over North Central last Saturday represented the largest win margin against a CCIW opponent since the 1987-88 season.
As a team, the Vikings' 14 steals per game is third across all of Division III men's basketball while their 8.7 turnover margin and 20.57 turnovers forced per game are ranked fifth and 15th, respectively. Marquise Jackson leads that defensive effort with 3.29 steals per game, good for seventh in the nation. Additionally, his 23 steals currently receive a national ranking of 14.
Vikings Ranked in CCIW Stat Categories:
Steals
1. Marquise Jackson (23)
3. Shamar Pumphrey (15)
5. Kolden Vanlandingham (14)
6. Jalen Boyd (13)
15. Jordan Boyd (9)
23. Quillin Dixon (7)
Scoring (PPG)
6. Marquise Jackson (16.6)
8. Kolden Vanlandingham (14.7)
10. Jalen Boyd (14.0)
19. Shamar Pumphrey (11.0)
Rebounding Average
6. Jordan Boyd (6.9)
20. Marquise Jackson (5.1)
23. Kolden Vanlandingham (4.9)
Field Goal Percentage
5. Adam Bulwa (58.1)
9. Jalen Boyd (55.7)
20. Marquise Jackson (51.1)
25. Shamar Pumphrey (46.8)
Free-Throw Percentage
7. Kolden Vanlandingham (71.9)
3-PT Field Goal Percentage
4. Jalen Boyd (48.0)
16. Kolden Vanlandingham (40.0)
Assists
5. Shamar Pumphrey (27)
6. Marquise Jackson (26)
Blocked Shots
10. Jordan Boyd (4)
13t. Marquise Jackson (3)
13t. Adam Bulwa (3)
On the hot start to the season, first-year head coach Sean Smith said, "I'm proud of our guys and how hard they have worked and played. We are not satisfied and realize that we have a lot of work ahead of us. We are committed to making continual progress by attacking each day with a relentless effort."
That work continues this coming Saturday, Dec. 10, when the Vikings host Augustana College for their first CCIW home game of the season. Tipoff is set for 4:15 PM, following the women's game.
