INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. (Feb. 24) -- For the second consecutive week, the Central Washington University men's basketball team finds itself ranked seventh in the official NCAA Division II West Region poll, released Wednesday by the NCAA national office.
The Wildcats are one of four Great Northwest Athletic Conference teams ranked among the top 10 in the West this week. Seattle Pacific and Western Washington, whom Central plays this Thursday and Sunday, respectively, are ranked first and second. Alaska Anchorage, whom the Wildcats split with this season, remains ranked ninth in the region this week.
Overall, the top three teams remained the same this week, with Cal Poly Pomona ranking third behind SPU and WWU. The big shake-up in the region was the plummet of Cal State San Bernardino from fourth to eighth, which resulted in one-place ascents for Humboldt State and Dixie State to fourth and fifth, respectively. Brigham Young-Hawaii had the biggest move in the poll this week, leapfrogging Central Washington and moving from eighth to sixth.
Central Washington is bidding for its third consecutive NCAA Division II tournament appearance -- and its fourth in the past five years. The Wildcats take a 15-7 overall record and a 9-3 GNAC mark into Thursday's game at Seattle Pacific, which is ranked ninth nationally and owns a 20-3 overall record and 11-1 conference standing. CWU has won the last eight regular-season meetings between the two schools, and needs a victory over the Falcons on Thursday night to prevent SPU from clinching the GNAC title.
The Wildcats will then take their road show to Bellingham on Sunday night for a regionally-televised game with archrival Western Washington (22-5, 8-4 GNAC) beginning at 7 p.m. on FSN Northwest.
Central will close out the home portion of its schedule with games against Montana State Billings and Saint Martin's on Mar. 4 and 6, respectively, with both games starting at 7:30 p.m.
2009-10 NCAA DIVISION II MEN'S BASKETBALL WEST REGION POLL #5 (February 24, 2010)
1. Seattle Pacific
2. Western Washington
3. Cal Poly Pomona
4. Humboldt State
5. Dixie State
6. Brigham Young-Hawaii
7. CENTRAL WASHINGTON
8. Cal State San Bernardino
9. Alaska Anchorage
10. Cal State Dominguez Hills
