Sunday, February 12, 2017

Initial Regional Hoop Rankings Come Out Wednesday

We're hitting crunch time as Selection Sunday nears.
The initial regional rankings for men's and women's hoops will be released on Wednesday (you can find the men's ranking here and the women's ranking here), and there are some interesting things going on in both genders.

On the men's side, we have actual (or virtual) first-place ties in all three conferences through games of Saturday, Feb. 11. On the women's side, it appears that the battle for the No. 1 seed and the all-important hosting rights will come down to Alaska Anchorage (unbeaten in 23 DII games, as its lone loss was to a Division I opponent) and Cal Baptist of the PacWest (25-2 overall).

Also noteworthy are the number of institutions currently in contention to earn the No. 1 seed in BOTH men's and women's hoops: Alaska Anchorage and Western Washington from the GNAC, Cal Baptist and Hawaii Pacific from the PacWest, and UC San Diego from the CCAA.

All three conferences will determine automatic qualifiers to the regionals via their respective postseason tournaments (six champions crowned Saturday, March 4). The five at-large teams in each gender will be based on the final regional rankings, which are determined by six-person committees in each gender (two reps from each conference). Trust me: a lot of data drilling goes on here, and it's never easy. Updated rankings are released each of the next three Wednesdays, but the last (and most important) ranking is unveiled in the form of the regional brackets announced on Selection Sunday (March 5).

As I outlined in a Twitter thread today, a number of teams from across the region are in contention for the No. 1 seed (and hosting rights) in both genders.

But as of 2014-15, NCAA policy prevents the same institution from hosting eight-team regionals in both genders (too many logistical issues when you consider 16 teams competing at a single site).

However, should the same institution earn the No. 1 seed in both men's and women's hoops, regardless of region, the options are this:

1. Split both regionals, with the top seed hosting four-team affiars for the men and women (and, presumably, the No. 2 seed in each gender hosting the other four teams), OR

2. Host a full eight-team regional in a single gender (with the No. 2 seed in the other gender likely hosting the other eight-team regional).

For now, here's a look at the top six teams (plus ties) in the GNAC, PacWest and CCAA through games of this past Saturday night.

MEN'S STANDINGS (top 6)
GNAC Conf Overall
Alaska Anchorage 13-3 19-5
Western Washington 13-3 19-5
Western Oregon 10-6 13-11
Saint Martin's 8-8 14-10
Montana State Billings 8-8 13-11
Northwest Nazarene 8-8 11-11



PACWEST
Hawaii Pacific 14-2 22-2
Cal Baptist 14-2 22-2
Dixie State 13-3 16-6
Chaminade 12-6 16-9
Concordia-Irvine 10-6 14-10
Point Loma 9-7 13-10
CCAA
UC San Diego 14-3 19-5
San Francisco State 13-3 20-3
Sonoma State 13-3 17-5
Chico State 11-5 18-6
Cal State San Marcos 10-6 16-8
Cal State Dom. Hills 8-8 12-10

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WOMEN'S STANDINGS (top 6)
GNAC Conf Overall
Alaska Anchorage 16-0 23-1
Western Washington 15-1 21-3
Simon Fraser 13-3 22-4
Seattle Pacific 9-7 17-7
Alaska   7-9 11-12
Concordia-Portland 7-9 10-14
Northwest Nazarene 7-9 9-13
PACWEST
Cal Baptist 16-0 25-2
Point Loma 14-2 20-3
Hawaii Pacific 14-2 17-4
Azusa Pacific 11-6 13-12
Notre Dame de Namur 10-6 12-11
Academy of Art 9-6 13-10
CCAA
UC San Diego 14-3 18-5
Cal State East Bay 13-4 16-8
Cal Poly Pomona 11-5 13-9
Stanislaus State 11-5 13-12
Cal State S. Bernardino 10-6 13-7
Cal State LA 10-7 13-12