The first regional rankings for the NCAA Division II basketball tournament came out Monday, featuring three PSAC West teams.
IUP, Gannon and Mercyhurst were able to take three spots out of the 10 teams listed.
IUP is ranked third in the Atlantic Region with a 20-3 record, Gannon is ranked sixth with a 16-8 record and Mercyhurst is ranked 10th with a 14-9 record. Here’s how the rankings look:
1. West Liberty (19-2)
2. East Stroudsburg (22-1)
3. IUP (20-3)
4. Charleston (15-7)
5. Shepherd (17-7)
6. Gannon (16-8)
7. Glenville State (15-8)
8. Fairmont State (14-8)
9. Livingstone (14-6)
10. Mercyhurst (14-9)
The top eight teams make the DII tournament, which is set to kickoff March 15th. The top-seeded team in each of the eight regions will host the regional portion of the tournament.
Last season, West Liberty hosted the regional. IUP and Slippery Rock made last season’s tournament as a No. 3 and No. 7 seeds and played each other in the second round. IUP won the matchup but lost to host West Liberty.
Each of the top three teams listed in the first set of rankings sit in the top 12 in the national rankings with East Stroudsburg at No. 5, West Liberty at No. 6 and IUP at No. 12.
Four teams come from the PSAC while five come from the Mountain East Conference and one comes from the CIAA, bringing some familiarity into the region and setting up good matchups.
IUP and Mercyhurst have two games left while Gannon has just one game left in the regular season before the PSAC tournament begins.
Photo Credit: IUP Athletics
