Even the most faithful fans in the Minnesota basketball community might not be aware of the top-ranked college men's basketball program in their backyard.
Anoka-Ramsey Community College appeared at No. 1 in the NJCAA Division 3 national rankings in the most recent poll released Wednesday. The 22-3 Golden Rams received five first-place votes to move up one spot to No. 1.
The school, located in Coon Rapids, competes in the Minnesota College Athletic Conference comprised other junior colleges throughout Minnesota and neighboring states. The Golden Rams Wednesday night host Rochester Community and Technical College at 7:45 p.m. in the Anoka-Ramsey Field House if you're interested in seeing what the NJCAA Division 3's top team looks like.
The team is built of nine Minnesota high school products, three players from Iowa, and one from Florida. The regular starting lineup includes Mamadou Ngom, a sophomore guard from Hopkins, Edvonte Copeland, a sophomore guard from Minnesota Transitions, and Kevin Schramm, a freshman forward from Irondale.
Copeland leads the team averaging 17.1 points per game. Ngom is the team's second-leading scorer averaging 15.8 points. Schramm leads the team with 6.9 rebounds per game.
The Golden Rams' final game of the season is Saturday at Ridgewater College in Willmar. St. Cloud Tech dropped out of the NJCAA D3 Top 10 this weekend and is one of three teams receiving votes. If Anoka-Ramsey can survive the week without suffering its fourth loss, it should be the top seed heading into the District IV tournament hosted at the Anoka-Ramsey Field House in Coon Rapids, March 3-5.
The winner of the tournament advances to the March 16-18 national championship tournament at UCR Regional Sports Center in Rochester, Minn.
