Fort Hays State Men's Basketball moved up four more spots in the most recent NABC Top 25 Poll, released on Tuesday (Feb. 20). The Tigers are up to No. 14 in the national rankings, and have jumped back into the D2CSC Top 25 Poll at No. 25. It is the highest ranking for the Tigers in the NABC Top 25 since the 2011-12 season, when they reached No. 8 in the nation.
 
The Tigers are now 20-5 overall on the season after a pair of wins on the road at Lincoln and Central Missouri last week. With the win at Central Missouri, Fort Hays State has now won at least 20 games in a season 12 times under head coach Mark Johnson, accomplishing the feat for a third-straight season.
 
This is the 112^th time the Tigers have been ranked in the NABC Top 25 during their NCAA Division II history. They are 186-47 all-time when holding an NABC ranking.
 
This is the fifth time overall and second time this season the Tigers have held a ranking in the D2CSC Top 25, a poll that began in 2014-15. FHSU was No. 16 in the D2CSC Poll early this year after a 2-0 start to the season and has been lurking in the receiving votes section for several releases prior to the February 20 release.

Fort Hays State and Northwest Missouri State (No. 7 in both polls) represent the MIAA in both top 25 polls. The Bearcats moved up four spots in both the NABC and D2CSC polls this week.
 
The Central Region continues to have the most teams in the NABC Top 25 with six. The group includes Minnesota State (No. 4), Northwest Missouri State (No. 7), Minnesota Duluth (No. 12), MSU Moorhead (No. 13), Fort Hays State (No. 14), and Minot State (No. 24). The South Central Region has five teams in the Top 25, which includes four teams in the top 10, headed by No. 1 ranked West Texas A&M.
 
Fort Hays State hosts Pittsburg State (Thur.) and Missouri Southern (Sat.) this week. FHSU lost to Pittsburg State on the road earlier this season, but defeated Missouri Southern in Joplin.

NABC Top 25 Poll - February 20, 2024

Rank	Team	Points	Record	Prev
1	West Texas A&M (16)	24-1	400	1
2	Nova Southeastern, Fla.	20-2	383	2
3	Fort Lewis, Colo.	22-2	366	3
4	Minnesota State	24-2	350	5
5	Gannon, Pa.	23-2	315	7
6	Colorado Mesa	21-3	314	9
7	Northwest Missouri State	21-4	297	11
8	Dallas Baptist, Texas	21-3	270	4
9	California, Pa.	21-3	260	14
10	West Georgia	21-3	239	6
11	Charleston, W.Va.	20-3	223	16
12	Minnesota Duluth	22-5	204	17
13	MSU Moorhead, Minn.	22-3	200	8
14	Fort Hays State, Kan.	20-5	182	18
15	East Stroudsburg, Pa.	21-3	178	10
16	North Georgia	20-4	164	12
17	Saint Martin's, Wash.	20-4	148	13
18	Cal State Dominguez Hills	21-4	144	22
19	Lander, S.C.	19-5	83	19
20	West Liberty, W.Va.	19-5	66	NR
21	Colorado School of Mines	20-6	47	21
22	Benedict, S.C.	19-5	41	20
23	St. Thomas Aquinas, N.Y.	20-5	39	15
24	Minot State, N.D.	19-7	37	23
25	UNC Pembroke, N.C.	19-5	34	NR

Receiving Votes: USC Aiken (S.C.) 30, Concord (W.Va.) 24, Northern Michigan 20, Clark Atlanta (Ga.) 15, Cal State San Bernardino 13, Indianapolis (Ind.) 12, Emmanuel (Ga.) 11, Montana State Billings 10, Florida Southern 9, Lincoln Memorial (Tenn.) 9, Lubbock Christian (Texas) 8, Kentucky Wesleyan 7, Ferris State (Mich.) 3, Millersville (Pa.) 3, Saint Michael's (Vt.) 3, Bentley (Mass.) 2, Lee (Tenn.) 2, Washburn (Kan.) 2, Lake Superior State (Mich.) 1.

D2CSC Top 25 Poll - February 20, 2024

Rank	Team	Points	Record	Prev
1	West Texas A&M (10)	384	24-1	1
2	Minnesota State (3)	374	24-2	2
3	Nova Southeastern (3)	369	20-2	3
4	Gannon	338	23-2	4
5	Fort Lewis	281	22-2	T12
6	West Georgia	271	21-3	6
7	Northwest Missouri State	269	21-4	11
8	Dallas Baptist	262	21-3	5
9	MSU Moorhead	244	22-4	9
10	North Georgia	227	20-4	10
11	Charleston (W.Va.)	218	20-3	17
12	Cal State Dominguez Hills	205	21-4	19
13	Colorado Mesa	193	21-3	14
14	California (Pa.)	191	21-3	18
15	East Stroudsburg	177	21-3	7
16	St. Thomas Aquinas	164	20-5	T12
17	Saint Martin's	145	20-4	8
18	Lander	144	19-5	15
19	Northern Michigan	127	19-7	16
20	Minnesota Duluth	100	22-5	T24
21	Florida Southern	68	19-7	22
22	Colorado School of Mines	57	20-6	20
23	Saint Michael's	48	19-6	21
24	Emmanuel	45	21-5	RV
25	Fort Hays State	40	20-5	RV

Receiving Votes: Lake Superior State – 38; Montana State Billings – 34; Chico State – 21; Concord – 21; Indianapolis – 16; Millersville – 15; UNC Pembroke – 12; West Liberty – 11; Cal State San Bernardino – 10