NCAA DII Midwest Region Rankings (Feb. 15)


INDIANAPOLIS – A red-hot Kentucky Wesleyan program was slotted at No. 4 in the first set of  NCAA DII Midwest Region Men’s Basketball Rankings that were released on Wednesday.
 
The Panthers were ranked 13th a day prior in the NABC Top-25 Coaches Poll and currently have a 22-2 overall record to represent the Great Midwest Athletic Conference.
 
KWC has already wrapped up the regular-season conference title, hosting responsibilities for the G-MAC Championship and is currently on a 20-game win streak.
 
The Midwest Region men’s basketball rankings are put together by respective regional advisory committees around the country. The G-MAC is considered for the Midwest Region along with the Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) and Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC).
 
Bellarmine (GLVC) tops the first set of regional rankings followed by Southern Indiana (GLVC) and Ferris State (GLIAC). Incoming 2017-18 G-MAC member Findlay is ranked fifth followed by last year’s region host Wisconsin-Parkside (GLVC), Quincy (GLVC) and Truman State (GLVC) to round out the top eight.
 
Kentucky Wesleyan has fashioned together an impressive 21-2 in-region record that includes non-conference wins against Wayne State, Tiffin, Truman State, Michigan Tech and Illinois Springfield. The Panthers also beat incoming G-MAC school Hillsdale on Nov. 26.
 
The only setbacks for KWC were in the Small College Basketball Hall of Fame Classic against then-No. 2 Lincoln Memorial and Southern Indiana. The Panthers haven’t lost since Nov. 19 in the 2016 calendar year.
 
Last year, Kentucky Wesleyan was the No. 8 seed in the Midwest Region for the NCAA Championship.
 
With four games left to play in the regular season, Kentucky Wesleyan (9-0 G-MAC) will try to put together a perfect conference record before hosting postseason play at the Sportscenter in Owensboro for the second consecutive year.