PEMBROKE — When you watch The University of North Carolina at Pembroke men’s basketball team dominate the competition this season, you have to wonder how this team ranks among the program’s best ever.

Perhaps the ultimate mark measuring the 2021-22 edition against the great Braves teams of the past will be how it does in March. But one in-season comparison already favors this year’s team above all the rest.

The Braves were ranked No. 11 in the Division II Sports Information Directors Association’s national poll released Tuesday, the highest mark in program history, surpassing the program’s No. 12 rank from Jan. 20, 2015. The Braves also topped D2SIDA’s Southeast Region Poll for the first time in program history on Monday.

Enjoy this ride, Brave Nation — this team is making history.

They’re doing so with the excellent leadership of four upperclassmen, seniors Tyrell Kirk, Spencer Levi and Deon Berrien and junior Jordan Ratliffe, leading the team to a 14-1 start overall and a 11-1 mark in its first season in Conference Carolinas.

All four are putting together fantastic seasons. Ratliffe leads the Braves in scoring at 17.1 points per game, fifth-best in Conference Carolinas, with 4.1 rebounds and 1.8 steals per contest. His backcourt mate Kirk is scoring 13.2 points per game with 4.0 assists, fourth in Conference Carolinas, and 1.7 steals per game.

In the post, Levi averages 15.5 points per game; his 9.1 rebounds per game leads Conference Carolinas and his 2.0 blocks per game is third in the league. Berrien, in his first season with the Braves after transferring from Lander, is averaging 12.3 points and 6.3 rebounds per game and his 3.2 assists per contest is the second-highest mark on the team.

“Win or lose we love these guys, just because of the sweat and tears they’ve put into not only this program, or previous programs, and what they’ve done,” UNCP coach Drew Richards said after a win over Fayetteville State in November. “The pressure’s on them, we’re putting a lot of strain on them, we’re challenging them a lot trying to make sure they’re becoming the best players they can be, because if they’re pretty good that means we’re going to be pretty good.”

Younger Braves have also been key contributors, including freshmen Trenton McIntyre (8.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, 2.9 assists per game), Javonte Waverly (5.3 points, 2.0 assists per game) and Nate Dunlop (5.3 points, 3.1 rebounds per game) and sophomore transfer Jakari Gallon (5.1 points, 3.9 rebounds per game).

The balance from the top to the bottom of the Braves roster is a big part of the reason they’re having so much success — opponents can’t focus on one player, or even a few players, when trying to defend them. Put all together and the Braves are eighth nationally averaging 89.1 points per game.

This UNCP team is an extension of the program built by former head coach Ben Miller, who led the Braves from 2008-19. And the mantra of defense and rebounding that was instilled in the program by Miller and continued by interim head coach Tony Jones during the 2019-20 season, which ended in a regular-season conference championship, is just as big an emphasis under Richards, Miller’s assistant from 2014-19 who returned after a year as Lander’s head coach as a continuation of the culture Miller established.

And indeed, rebounding is a huge strength. The Braves lead all of Division II in total rebounding, with 45.3 per game, and in rebounding margin, at plus-13.6. They’re second in offensive rebounding at 16.7 per contest.

Defensively, the Braves allow 73.3 points per game, good for the second-best mark in Conference Carolinas.

“We’ve got weapons on this team and we’re going to try to utilize those to the best of our ability, but the nitty gritty that makes us successful is defense and rebounding, and that’s what we’re going to focus on,” Richards said after a November win against Erskine.

The Braves also do a good job of sharing the basketball, making the extra pass to turn a good shot into a great shot. UNCP is 10th nationally in assists per game with 18.3.

“We’re so much better (when we share the ball) then we are when we don’t share, because everybody on our team is so good,” Levi said after Monday’s 95-66 win at Mount Olive, in which he had four assists and the team dished out 21. “When we share the ball and get everybody involved, we have multiple dudes in double figures scoring, and rebounding and doing everything, it just goes to show how good of a team we actually are.”

One point for improvement for the Braves is to play their best for the full 40 minutes. Several times this season they’ve played a sluggish first half before starting the second half with a big run to pull away for a victory.

While naturally Richards wants his team to play better in the first half of games, the point begs the question: what if the Braves’ season follows the same pattern and they’re a team that is far better in the second half?

It’s a scary thought for the rest of Conference Carolinas. But regardless, the Braves are already playing well enough that this team still has plenty more history to make.