INDIANAPOLIS – Fort Hays State Men's Basketball is ranked No. 7 in the second set of Central Region Rankings, released by the NCAA on February 23. FHSU moved down one spot in the rankings this week, trading spots with Southeastern Oklahoma State. The Tigers remain in good position for a potential berth to the NCAA Tournament with one week remaining in the regular season.
Fort Hays State is among seven teams with five or less losses in the Central Region. Six of those seven are in the latest NABC Top 25 national rankings, including FHSU, which shows the strength of the Central Region on a national level. No other region can boast having that many teams with five or less losses among their region rankings. The Tigers were 18-4 against NCAA Division II competition as of Sunday (21-4 record overall). FHSU went 3-0 since the last time the regional committee convened, defeating Lincoln twice and Central Missouri.
The Tigers continue to hold the sixth-best performance indicator in the Central Region and sixth-best region RPI. They also carry a better Division II in-region, overall record, and strength of schedule than Southeastern Oklahoma. However, there is still another set of rankings to come out next week before the Tigers start MIAA Tournament play and the formulas can still shift further as more games are played this week.
The top three schools from the NSIC continue to rank 1-2-3 in the second edition of the rankings. Augustana remains No. 1, Upper Iowa No. 2, and Minnesota Duluth No. 3. Central Oklahoma swapped spots with Northwest Missouri State this week in the No. 4 and 5 positions. UCO defeated NWMSU in the only head-to-head regular season matchup between the teams this season. Oklahoma Baptist is the only other GAC school listed in the rankings aside from Southeastern Oklahoma State. Washburn jumped into the rankings this week at No. 9 and Northern State of the NSIC sits in the No. 10 position.
Winners of conference tournaments get an automatic bid to the NCAA Central Regional regardless of their records or where they rank regionally, essentially with the ability to steal bids from teams inside the top eight of the rankings. Eight teams make the NCAA Tournament to compete in the NCAA Central Regional.
NCAA Men's Basketball Central Region Rankings - February 23, 2022
(Division II Record) (In-Region)
1. Augustana (SD) 21-2 21-2
2. Upper Iowa 24-4 23-4
3. Minnesota Duluth 22-4 22-4
4. Central Oklahoma 20-4 20-4
5. Northwest Missouri State 21-4 20-4
6. Southeastern Oklahoma State 19-5 18-4
7. Fort Hays State 18-4 18-4
8. Oklahoma Baptist 19-7 19-7
9. Washburn 15-9 15-9
10. Northern State 18-11 18-11