Tigers remain first in NCAA Central Region Rankings

No. 4 Fort Hays State University was listed as the top ranked team for the third consecutive week in the NCAA Central Region Rankings, released Wednesday. The Tigers have been first in every version of the poll, released weekly leading up the NCAA Tournament Selection Show, heldMarch 8. The top eight teams in the region advance to the NCAA Regionals, held March 13-15 at a site to be determined.

The Central Region is made up of teams from the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA), the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) and the Great American Conference (GAC). Automatic bids are granted to the winners of the postseason conference tournaments, with the final five seeds handed out on an at-large basis. Northern State has already locked up an automatic bid after winning the NSIC Tournament this week.

The Tigers (26-2, 18-1 MIAA) are 22-2 against NCAA Division II teams on the year – with all matchups coming against regional opponents. FHSU is one of five MIAA teams listed in the rankings, joining Emporia State (No. 2), Pittsburg State (No. 3), Central Missouri (No. 9) and Missouri Southern (No. 10). Three teams from the NSIC are listed in the poll, with Wayne State (No. 4), Northern State (No. 7) and Minnesota State-Mankato (No. 8) representing the conference. Harding (No. 5) and Arkansas Tech (No. 6) are the GAC teams listed in the rankings.

This week’s poll saw minimal changes and no new teams mentioned. Emporia State and Pittsburg State flipped the second and third overall spots, while Arkansas Tech and Northern State swapped the sixth and seventh positions.

Fort Hays State won the MIAA Regular Season Championship outright this season and is the No. 1 seed in the MIAA Tournament, which began last Tuesday at home sites. FHSU earned an automatic bye into the quarterfinals and begins tournament play this Friday (March 6) against ninth-seeded Northeastern State. Game time from Municipal Auditorium is Noon.

The complete NCAA Central Region Rankings for March 4.

Rank	School	In-Region Record	DII Record
1	Fort Hays State	22-2	22-2
2	Emporia State	21-4	21-4
3	Pittsburg State	23-5	25-5
4	Wayne State College	24-4	24-4
5	Harding	20-6	20-6
6	Arkansas Tech	18-4	20-5
7	Northern State	22-6	22-6
8	Minnesota State – Mankato	20-8	21-8
9	Central Missouri	17-8	19-8
10	Missouri Southern	18-6	18-6