INDIANAPOLIS - The University of Sioux Falls Men's Basketball Team (19-11) has moved into the No. 10 spot in the third and final NCAA Division II men's basketball regional rankings, which were released on Wednesday (March 6). The NSIC has five of the top 10 teams in the central region rankings.
Northern State, which earned the league's automatic berth in the NCAA DII Central region by winning the NSIC Tourney, moved up a spot to second, followed by St. Cloud State, which stayed fourth. Wayne State reentered the rankings coming in seventh this week while Minnesota State dropped to eighth. USF, which lost a 79-76 heartbreaker to Northern State on Sunday, also was ranked No. 10 as the Cougars made the rankings for the first time this season. Rankings are based on games played through March 3.
USF dropped to 19-11 with its setback to NSU on Sunday. The Cougars have gone 39-21 over the past two seasons. USF was 13-9 in the NSIC this year as they were seeded fourth in the league tourney. The Cougars opened the NSIC Tournament with a 96-51 victory over Minot State at the Stewart Center on Feb. 27. The Cougars had two players -
Trevon Evans and
Drew Guebert - named to the All-NSIC first team. Evans now has 1,291 career points in two seasons and became just the second (Gayle Hoover) to have back-to-back seasons of 600 points or more (611, 680). Guebert sits third all-time in scoring at USF with 1,971 points while ranking first in three-pointers all-time at USF with 264.
The NSIC, the Great American Conference (GAC) and the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA) make up the 42-team NCAA Central Region again this year. The top eight teams in the region advance to the NCAA Regional Tournament on March 16-17, 19. Automatic bids are granted to the winners of the NSIC, GAC and MIAA postseason tournaments, with the remaining five spots being awarded on an at-large basis.
The NCAA Men's Basketball Selection Show is set to air on NCAA.com at 9:30 p.m. (CT) on Sunday, March 10. The NCAA Elite 8 will take place on March 27-28, 30 at the Ford Center in Evansville, Indiana.
| Rank |
School |
Overall DII |
In-Region |
LW |
| 1 |
Northwest Missouri State (MIAA) |
26-0 |
25-0 |
1 |
| 2 |
Northern State (NSIC) |
24-6 |
23-6 |
3 |
| 3 |
Washburn (MIAA) |
20-6 |
19-6 |
2 |
| 4 |
St. Cloud State (NSIC) |
21-8 |
19-8 |
4 |
| 5 |
Missouri Southern State (MIAA) |
20-6 |
20-6 |
5 |
| 6 |
Southern Nazarene (GAC) |
25-5 |
24-5 |
6 |
| 7 |
Wayne State(NSIC) |
18-9 |
18-9 |
NR |
| 8 |
Minnesota State (NSIC) |
17-11 |
16-10 |
7 |
| 9 |
Southeastern Oklahoma State (GAC) |
18-6 |
18-6 |
10 |
| 10 |
Sioux Falls (NSIC) |
18-11 |
18-11 |
NR |
Dropped Out: #8 Minnesota Duluth (NSIC) & #9 Augustana (NSIC)
Through Games MAR. 3, 2019
