Indian Hills Gets National Recognition

Ottumwa -- The Indian Hills basketball team maintained its No. 4 national ranking in this week’s National Junior College Athletic Association poll and has moved into the top spot in another poll.

The Warriors, off to an 8-0 start, took over the No. 1 ranking in the second installment of the JucoRecruiting.com Top 50, released on Tuesday. That poll ranks the top junior college basketball programs in the country, including those in California and Washington, who are not members of the NJCAA. And it includes all programs regardless of division or region.

In the JucoRecruiting.com ratings, Indian Hills leads a top five that also includes Northwest Florida State, Monroe CC from New York, Palm Beach State (Fla.) and College of Southern Idaho.

Indian Hills was third in the initial poll, behind Southern Idaho and City College of San Francisco.

The Warriors moved up from ninth to fourth in the NJCAA poll last week and remain in the No. 4 slot this week. They trail Monroe, Coffeyville CC and Northwest Florida in that poll and are just ahead of Palm Beach State.

Two future IHCC opponents – Vincennes (No. 7) and Howard College (No. 12) – are also included in the NJCAA Top 20. Upcoming foes Iowa Western CC, Missouri State-West Plains and Paris JC all received votes but didn’t make the Top 20. Three Rivers CC, one of two teams the Warriors defeated in a tournament in Missouri last weekend, was rated 19th at the time. They dropped out of this week’s rankings.

Indian Hills is currently in the midst of a 10-day break before returning to action at Ellsworth CC on Nov. 29. The next home game for the Warriors will be against Kirkwood CC on Dec. 6.

Kirkwood is fresh off a 20-point win over Southeastern CC last Saturday night and was 15th in last week’s NJCAA Division II poll.