FHSU Sports Information
Fort Hays State men’s basketball held its position for the third straight week in the NCAA Division II Central Region Rankings, released on Wednesday (Mar. 5). Fort Hays State checks in at No. 6 once again, heading into the MIAA Tournament in Kansas City.

The Tigers were No. 6 in the first set of rankings, released on Feb. 19, and have held that position ever since. Also holding steady this week was Winona State at No. 5 and Arkansas Tech at No. 7. With a win over current No. 4 region ranked Northwest Missouri State this past weekend, Central Missouri takes over the top spot in the rankings this week, leaping current No. 2 Minnesota State-Mankato. Missouri Southern jumped from fifth to third this week.

There has been constant shake up in the teams listed in the No. 8 through No. 10 spots. Washburn jumped in at No. 8 this week after not being in the previous rankings, but it will be hard for the Ichabods to survive staying in that spot after losing in the opening round of the MIAA Tournament to Northeastern State. Minnesota State-Moorhead, a NSIC Tournament semifinalist, is No. 9 this week and Arkansas-Monticello debuts at No. 10 on the list this week.

The Tigers are looking for their sixth NCAA Tournament appearance under head coach Mark Johnson, now in his 13th year.

Below are the Central Region Rankings for Wednesday, March 5…

Rk	Team	DII Record	In-Region Record
1	Central Missouri	20-4	20-3
2	Minnesota State-Mankato	23-4	22-3
3	Missouri Southern State	18-5	16-5
4	Northwest Missouri State	18-7	18-6
5	Winona State	21-5	21-5
6	Fort Hays State	20-6	20-6
7	Arkansas Tech	19-7	19-7
8	Washburn	14-9	12-9
9	Minnesota State-Moorhead	17-7	17-7
10	Arkansas-Monticello	15-9	14-8