According to the Bennett Rankings, who does national rankings for NCAA I, II, and III men and women, the University of Charleston men's basketball team will enter the New Year as one of the two hottest teams in the Mountain East Conference (MEC).  The Golden Eagles ranked 2nd in the league's hottest teams behind only West Liberty State, who currently ranks #1 in the country.
 
According to the www.bennettrank.com, here is how they view the hottest MEC teams entering the holidays.

BR-6 WEST LIBERTY (9-0, 4-0 MEC)

The Hilltoppers don't rebuild, they reload. That's certainly the case this season as West Liberty picks up where they left off last season with a 9-0 record heading into 2015, despite a couple of closer than expected wins over BR-259 Urbana (138-133 in overtime on Dec. 6) and BR-95 Holy Family (89-86 on Dec. 14). Seger Bonifant is one of the nation's leading scorers (27.2 ppg) and is one of five 'Toppers averaging double-digit points, allowing West Liberty to average 107.1 ppg.

BR-57 CHARLESTON (W.VA.) (7-3, 2-2 MEC)

The Golden Eagles snagged a big early season 54-52 win over BR-30 Gannon at Glenville State back on Nov. 15 and are looking to show that last season's trip to the NCAA playoffs wasn't a fluke, in spite of a pair of wins over non-D2 opponents. Aleksander Kesic (13.2 ppg, 6.4 rpg) and Chris Evans (11.1 ppg) pace a Charleston offense that averages 77 points per game. While 77 points might not be enough to keep pace with the high powered offenses in the MEC, the Golden Eagles allow the second fewest points in the league (66.5 ppg) and held West Liberty to their lowest point total of the season in an 82-70 loss on Nov. 22.

BR-77 GLENVILLE STATE (8-2, 4-0)

The Pioneers, much like Charleston, scored an early season win over Gannon, but both losses came against BennettRank Top 100 teams (BR-80 Slippery Rock 63-62 and BR-56 Winston-Salem State 84-75). Donte Morales leads Glenville's offense, averaging 20 points per game, and is one of four Pioneers averaging over 10 points per game. Defensively, Glenville averages 10.2 steals per game, which leads to a solid +4.5 turnover margin. The Pioneers will get their first chance to topple West Liberty on Jan. 12.

BR-79 FAIRMONT STATE (5-5 2-2, MEC)

More than a few pundits wondered how Fairmont State got snubbed out of last season's NCAA playoffs. A weak out-of-conference schedule killed the Fighting Falcons despite a 20-10 overall record. This season, a 5-5 record out of the game is putting pressure on the Falcons to rebound, especially after recent losses to BR-153 Bowie State, Winston-Salem State and BR-8 Bellarmine. Six Falcons, led by Jamel Morris (16.0 ppg), average 10 points per game or more, though the Falcons 79.8 points per game scored is only slightly better than the 79.0 ppg allowed. Time will tell if Fairmont State are pretenders or contenders in the MEC.