MARSHALL, Minn. – The Southwest Minnesota State University men's basketball team moved up three spots to No. 10 in this week's College Sports Communicators (CSC) Top 25 poll, while moving up seven spots in the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Top 25 poll to sit at No. 15. Both national polls were released on Tuesday.
SMSU, which is on a season-high six-game winning streak, is 15-3 overall and in sole possession of first place in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference with a record of 10-2. SMSU's overall record is tied with the 2016-17 team for the best mark after 18 games in program history. The 2016-17 team would eventually move to 17-3 overall.
SMSU is one of two NSIC teams ranked in both weekly polls with Minot State ranked No. 18 in the CSC poll and No. 22 in the NABC poll.
SMSU is ranked No. 2 for the second straight week in the CSC Central Region weekly poll released on Tuesday. The CSC regional poll is not the official region rankings used by the NCAA. The official NCAA region rankings will be released starting Feb. 19.
The Mustangs return to the road this weekend for two games facing Bemidji State on Friday night at 5:30 p.m. before battling St. Cloud State on Saturday starting at 3:30 p.m.
D2CSC Central Region Rankings
as of Jan. 21
Team W-L Pts. Prev.
1 Washburn (5) 17-0 50 1
2 SMSU 15-3 45 2
3 Southern Nazarene 12-2 39 4
4 Minot State 18-3 35 3
5 Concordia-St. Paul 14-4 30 6
6 Oklahoma Baptist 11-5 18 7
7 Fort Hays State 12-4 15 RV
8 Minnesota Duluth 12-5 13 RV
T9 Henderson State 11-5 9 8
T9 Rogers State 14-6 9 9
RV: Winona State - 5; Northeastern State - 4; Missouri Western - 1; Minnesota State - 1; Ouachita Baptist - 1
