CHARLESTON, S.C.- The Citadel Basketball team gained national recognition on Monday morning from the Omni Rankings as the nation's top team on the rise. Due in large part to consecutive Southern Conference victories over Samford, Appalachian State and Western Carolina, the Omni Rankings placed the Bulldogs over the likes of Saint Francis (PA), Utah, Wofford and Eastern Kentucky, who round out the top five.

The Omni Rankings strive to provide comprehensive rankings and predictions for fans of each Division I college team in men's basketball, women's basketball and football. They were founded by Matt Olson, a Northwestern University alumnus with an academic and professional background in engineering and journalism. The rankings utilize a mathematical model created by Olson in 1990 and enhanced in subsequent years to maximize accuracy. The model considers the results of every game and generates numerical ratings reflecting the assessment of each team's current strength.

The Citadel ascended to the "Teams on the rise" list behind dominating performances during their three-game winning streak. The Bulldogs have converted 80-of-143 (55.9%) attempts from the floor, including 17-of-42 (40.5%) from 3-point range, to average 70 points per contest. During a span of three halves against both Appalachian State and Western Carolina, the Bulldogs hit better than 60 percent from field goal range. It began against the Mountaineers with a 61.5 percent first half, followed by a second half that resulted in 62.1 percent from the floor. In Saturday's victory over Western Carolina the Cadets opened the game by hitting 67.9 percent in the first half. Meanwhile, the Dogs defensive prowess has limited the opposition to 53 points per game on 57-of-165 (34.5%) shooting. The Citadel also holds significant advantages in rebounds (98-87) and free throw percentage (78.6-71.4) over the last three contests.

The Citadel returns to action on Jan. 26 at Davidson, when they open up the rotation of Southern Conference play at Belk Arena at 7 p.m. For further news on Citadel Basketball please visit www.citadelsports.com.