INDIANAPOLIS – Fort Hays State Men's Basketball is among the 10 teams currently under consideration for the Central Regional of the NCAA Tournament. The first set of NCAA Region Rankings were released on Wednesday (Feb. 18), which only lists the 10 teams being considered in alphabetical order. The list of 10 teams can change week-to-week as future results affect the formulas for consideration. Rankings will be assigned to the teams in the second and third editions in the weeks ahead.
For the NCAA regional ranking formula, only games against NCAA Division II schools are considered. Fort Hays State is 17-8 overall for the season, but have a record of 14-8 in the region ranking formula. Three of their games were against non-NCAA Division II schools.
According to the report for the Central Region linked at the bottom of the region rankings page on
NCAA.com, Fort Hays State has the fourth-best strength of schedule among the 10 teams being considered. The Tigers also rank sixth among the region in KPI, eighth in Region RPI, and 12
th in performance indicator. Washburn leads the region in KPI, Region RPI, and performance indicator.
Fort Hays State seeks a third-straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament. The Tigers secured an automatic bid to the tournament last year by winning the MIAA Tournament.
Eight teams from the Central Region will be selected to compete in the Central Regional of the NCAA Tournament following the conclusion of conference tournaments. The region consists of teams from the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA), Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC), and Great American Conference (GAC). Champions from each of the three conference tournaments within the region receive automatic bids to the NCAA Tournament.
The MIAA has six teams among the 10 in the first release, while the GAC has three and the NSIC has one.
Below is the list of 10 teams currently being considered in the Central Regional alphabetically.
| School |
Overall D2 Record |
In-Region Record |
| Arkansas-Fort Smith |
15-6 |
15-6 |
| Central Missouri |
19-7 |
16-5 |
| Fort Hays State |
14-8 |
14-8 |
| Harding |
15-7 |
15-7 |
| Missouri Western |
16-9 |
16-8 |
| Oklahoma Baptist |
21-2 |
21-2 |
| Ouachita Baptist |
17-4 |
17-4 |
| Rogers State |
14-8 |
14-8 |
| St. Cloud State |
20-5 |
20-5 |
| Washburn |
22-1 |
18-1 |
