NCAA Division II Regional Rankings - Feb. 17, 2021
INDIANAPOLIS – The NCAA released the second Division II regional rankings for men's basketball on Wednesday, and Northwest Nazarene is still on the list for the West Region.
Once again, the Nighthawks are among eight teams listed as 'under consideration' in the rankings, which were announced on Wednesday. They are also the only GNAC team included in the rankings for the second week in a row.
Beginning this year, the first two regional rankings provided by the regional advisory committee do not list teams by their rank but rather as an alphabetical list of teams 'under consideration' for postseason selection. The third week will feature an actual ranking of eight teams. The NCAA will announce the six teams selected for the postseason from each region on Sunday, March 7.
The NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Championship will begin with regional rounds commencing on Friday, March 12. The West Regional will be held at Colorado School of Mines in Golden, Colorado.
Due to the reduced number of teams competing in the West Region due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the region is comprised for the 2020-21 season of teams from the GNAC, PacWest Conference, and Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference.
NNU enters the week with a 10-1 overall record after a pair of wins last weekend over Saint Martin's. The Nighthawks' record includes a 75-72 season-opening victory over Division I Portland State on Jan. 9 and a 9-1 record against Division II teams, and doesn't include an exhibition victory over Lewis-Clark State (ranked No. 4 in NAIA at the time).
Northwest Nazarene will visit Seattle Pacific on Friday and Saturday, with tip times at 6:00 p.m. and 2:00 p.m., both Pacific time. After that, the Nighthawks are scheduled to wrap up regular season play at Central Washington on March 5 and 6.
The other seven teams included in the second West Region rankings include Adams State (8-7), Biola (6-3), Colorado Mesa (16-1), Colorado Mines (13-1), Fresno Pacific (5-1), Hawaii Hilo (7-1), and Point Loma (6-1).
