By FHSU SPORTS INFORMATION
INDIANAPOLIS – Fort Hays State Men’s Basketball is again ranked No. 7 in the third and final set of Central Region Rankings, released by the NCAA on March 2.
The majority of regional rankings went unchanged this week, with the only shift being Northwest Missouri State jumping Central Oklahoma to move to fourth. Both MIAA co-champs dropped a game since the last regional data was produced, but Northwest’s victory over Fort Hays State in the regular season finale was enough in the eyes of the committee to move them up one spot.
The Tigers are one of seven regional programs with five or fewer losses this season. Six of those seven are in the latest NABC Top 25 national rankings, including No. 21 FHSU, while the seventh team is amongst those teams receiving votes in the poll. No other region can boast having that many teams with five or less losses among their region rankings.
While the MIAA Basketball Championship presented by Citizen’s Bank and Trust and the GAC Basketball Championship are both getting underway this week, the Northern Sun has already decided its postseason champion and thus given away its automatic bid to the Central Region Championship. Minnesota State Moorehead, a team that went unranked in any of the regional rankings, defeated Augustana and Minnesota Duluth on its way to the championship, locking in a trip to the NCAA Championship.
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 DII Men’s Basketball Central Region Rankings – 3/2/22 | |||
| Rank | School | Overall II Record | In-Region Record |
| 1 | Augustana (South Dakota) | 22-2 | 22-2 |
| 2 | Upper Iowa | 25-4 | 24-4 |
| 3 | Minnesota Duluth | 23-4 | 23-4 |
| 4 | Northwest Missouri State | 23-5 | 22-5 |
| 5 | Central Oklahoma | 21-5 | 21-5 |
| 6 | Southeastern Oklahoma State | 22-5 | 21-5 |
| 7 | Fort Hays State | 19-5 | 19-5 |
| 8 | Oklahoma Baptist | 20-8 | 20-8 |
| 9 | Washburn | 17-9 | 17-9 |
| 10 | Northern State | 19-12 | 19-12 |