Rock Hill, S.C. – Winthrop men's basketball remained second in the latest CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 for a fourth straight week and for the first time this season received votes in the AP Top 25 Poll.

The Eagles are off to their best start in program history, which is also the best start in the history of the Big South Conference. Winthrop is 11-0 on the year and currently riding a 16-game winning streak. The winning streak is tied with Gonzaga for the longest current streak among NCAA D1 programs.

Winthrop received two votes in the latest AP Top 25 Poll, which is the second straight season receiving votes. The last time the Eagles were ranked in the AP Top 25 was in the final poll of the 2006-07 season in which they finished 22^nd. On Mar. 1, 2005 the Eagles received their first ever vote in the AP Top 25, which was the first day they had ever cracked the Top 10 of the CI Mid-Major Poll.

In addition to the record-breaking start to the season, Winthrop is off to an 8-0 start in league play for a second straight season and the first time in program history doing so in back-to-back seasons. It is also the first program in Big South history with 8-0 starts in back-to-back seasons since Coastal Carolina did so in 1989-90 and 1990-91.

Winthrop is back in action Jan. 14-15 when it hosts Longwood for a two-game series. Game time is 6 p.m. for both contests at the Winthrop Coliseum.