WEST LIBERTY — Another decade of NCAA men’s basketball has been entered into the record books and the numbers confirm what West Liberty University fans have known all along.

There is no sweeter home at any level of NCAA basketball than the Hilltoppers’ own ASRC, which celebrated its 20th season of operation on the WLU campus this year.

West Liberty’s 151-8 (.950) record inside the ASRC since the 2010-11 season was the highest home winning percentage of the decade by any NCAA men’s basketball program.

That puts Coach Ben Howlett’s program at the head of a pretty impressive class.

Kansas checks in at No. 2, compiling a sparkling 159-10 (.941) mark at the legendary F.C. “Phog” Allen Field House over that span. Kentucky is close behind with a 165-11 (.938) home record at Rupp Arena.

Fast-rising Gonzaga is fourth (156-11, .934), just ahead of two more NCAA Division II powerhouses.

Bellarmine (Ky.), which will begin transitioning to NCAA Division I status next year, rounds out the decade’s top five at 140-10 (.933) – just ahead of Lincoln Memorial (Tenn.), which has gone 151-11 (.932) at home since 2011.

The ASRC has been a house of thrills for the Hilltoppers and their fans since its doors opened during the 2000-01 season.

Not only have the WLU men won 151 of their last 159 games over the past decade, the current run merely extended an existing streak that has seen the Black and Gold win 180 of their last 188 home games dating back to 2009.

West Liberty has also put together a pair of impressive multi-year winning streaks inside the ASRC.

The Hilltoppers reeled off 49 straight home wins from 2008 to 2011 and nearly matched that with a 47-game run from 2015 to 2018.

Howlett and the West Liberty men finished the season ranked No. 7 nationally after following up their third straight MEC championship with an MEC Tournament sweep. They were selected as a co-host for the NCAA Division II Atlantic Region Tournament, only to see it canceled by the coronavirus outbreak.