SPEARFISH, S.D. – After climbing in the polls for five consecutive weeks during a 10-game win streak, the Black Hills State University men's basketball team fell to No. 15 in the seventh regular season edition of the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Top-25 poll on Tuesday morning. The fall in the rankings comes as the Yellow Jackets saw their 10-game winning streak come to an end on Saturday afternoon as they lost a 77-73 barnburner at MSU Denver for their first RMAC defeat of the season. The Green & Gold now look to bounce back this week when they return home to Spearfish with a 12-2 (5-1 RMAC) record this season.

The Yellow Jackets are among the top statistically in the nation in several different categories, including ranking fourth in NCAA Division II in effective field goal percentage (59.4%), is seventh in field goal percentage (51.4%) and assists per game (18.6), ninth in assist/turnover ratio (1.54), 19^th in scoring margin (+14.4), 23^rd in defensive rebounds per game (28.50), 24^th in 3-point percentage (38.5%), and 25^th in 3-pointers per game (10.1).

The Yellow Jackets continue to be the lone Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) team to be ranked or receiving votes and are one of seven ranked or receiving votes in the South Central Region as Lone Star Conference foes Lubbock Christian is No. 5, West Texas A&M is No. 16, St. Edward's is No. 18, Eastern New Mexico is No. 24, Dallas Baptist is No. 25, and St. Mary's is receiving votes.

Black Hills State will return home to Spearfish and play their first games in A2 Arena of the 2026 calendar year with a match-up against New Mexico Highlands at 7 p.m. on Thursday, January 15. The game between the Yellow Jackets and Cowboys will stream live on the RMAC Network and will also be carried on KNBN-2 (Rapid City) and KSFL (Sioux Falls) on linear tv.