FHSU Athletics
INDIANAPOLIS - The Fort Hays State women's basketball team is one of 10 teams currently under consideration for selection into the 2024 NCAA Division II Central Region Championships, announced Wednesday (Feb. 21) by the NCAA office.
In recent years the NCAA has released the first set of region rankings in alphabetical order before announcing the teams in rank order in the next two releases. Final selections for the field of eight teams will be announced on Sunday, March 10. The Tigers are one of seven MIAA programs in the region's top 10, joined by one school representing the Northern Sun and two institutions from the Great American Conference.
While the Tigers are 19-6 on the year, two of those wins came against NAIA opponents, giving FHSU an overall DII record of 17-6. All of those games came against in-region opponents, with the Tigers facing an in-region strength of schedule of .525 that ranks 17th-toughest out of the 41 teams in the region.
In addition to in-region results and strength of schedule, two of the other statistical metrics that the regional selection committee takes into consideration are performance indicator and in-region RPI. Fort Hays State currently has the seventh-best RPI in the region at .576, while the Tigers are ninth in performance indicator at 29.870.
The Tigers have wins over four of the other nine teams listed, including Minnesota State Mankato, Nebraska-Kearney, Northwest Missouri State and Pittsburg State.
Fort Hays State has played in seven of the last nine regional championship tournaments, serving as the top overall seed four times and playing in three regional finals.
All three of FHSU's final regular season opponents are also listed as under consideration, including Pittsburg State, Missouri Southern and Nebraska-Kearney. FHSU will open the season-ending three-game homestand Thursday (Feb. 22) against Pittsburg State beginning at 5:30 p.m.
2024 NCAA DII Central Region Rankings - February 21
School • Overall DII Record • In-Region Record
Central Missouri • 17-6 • 15-6
Fort Hays State • 17-6 • 17-6
Harding • 22-2 • 22-2
Minnesota State Mankato • 21-5 • 19-4
Missouri Southern State • 18-6 • 17-5
Missouri Western • 19-4 • 18-3
Nebraska-Kearney • 15-7 • 15-7
Northwest Missouri State • 19-5 • 19-5
Pittsburg State • 18-5 • 18-5
Southern Nazarene • 23-1 • 23-1
*teams listed in alphabetical order*