WONDER BOYS RANKED EIGHTH IN LATEST NCAA DIVISION II
SOUTH REGION RANKINGS

        INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana – The NCAA Division II Men’s Basketball Committee has released this week’s final regular season Division II men’s basketball regional rankings for the 2008-09 season. The rankings list the Top 10 teams in the each of the eight NCAA Division II regions.

Tech, who is 19-8 overall and finished 9-5 in the GSC West Division and is 14-8 in the South Region, is ranked eighth in this week’s poll after being ranked 10th in last week’s poll. For the week, Tech went 1-1 as it picked up a 79-58 home win last Thursday over Arkansas-Monticello, before falling 65-63 in its regular season finale last Saturday at Christian Brothers. Tech is one of six Gulf South Conference schools ranked in the second to last regional poll of the season.

At the end of the season, the top eight teams from each region will receive bids to the 64-team NCAA D-II Tournament. To be considered for selection into the national tournament, each team must play at least 16 games against teams within its region or against Division II schools in contiguous states. The regional rankings will be released every Wednesday through March 4. The top team in each region will have an opportunity to host the first two rounds of the 64-team National Championship Tournament. Only games played against NCAA D-II institutions are considered by the committee.

Other GSC teams in this week’s South Region ranking are Christian Brothers (18-4 D-II, 18-4 Region) is ranked third, Valdosta State (20-5 D-II, 20-5 South Region) is at No. 5, Delta State (16-7 D-II, 16-6 Region) at No. 6, North Alabama (14-8 D-II, 13-7 Region) is at No. 7 and Arkansas-Monticello (14-8 D-II, 13-8 South Region) is ranked ninth. Tech will face North Alabama in the Friday’s quarterfinal round of the 2009 GSC Tournament at the DeSoto County Civic Center in Southaven, Miss.

Claflin, who is the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC), headlines this week’s sixth South Region poll as they are 22-2 in Division II games and 22-2 in South Region games, while Florida Southern, who is from the Sunshine State Conference is ranked second as they are 23-5 in Division II games and 20-4 in South Region game. Benedict, who is also from the SIAC, is ranked fourth as they are 23-4 in D-II games and is 23-4 in the South Region and Rollins (15-9 D-II, 14-8 South Region) rounds out this week’s poll at No. 10.

The Wonder Boys will return to action on Friday, March 6, when they open up play in the 2009 GSC Tournament against North Alabama at 2:45 p.m. at the DeSoto County Civic Center.

          Complete NCAA Division II Regional Rankings

 -- Tech Athletics --