INDIANAPOLIS – The Chaminade University men's basketball team is ranked No. 7 in the first official NCAA regional rankings which were released Wednesday. The rankings are reflected through games played through Feb. 17.
The top eight squads in each of the Division II's eight regions will receive bids to the NCAA Regionals which begins on March 16.
The Silverswords (19-5) are one of three Pacific West Conference schools in the rankings. Conference-leading Point Loma is second while Concordia Irvine is at No. 10. Saint Martin's of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference, with a 19-3 record as of Feb. 17, is West Region's top-ranked team. The GNAC has four teams in the rankings with the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA), like the PacWest, has three.
Chaminade, which got a come-from-behind win on Tuesday at Azusa Pacific, is 2-2 against current ranked squads. They defeated UC San Diego and Concordia with both defeats coming to Point Loma. The Silverswords have two games remaining on their current road trip in Southern California. They are at Biola on Thursday then face Concordia in a pivotal rematch in Irvine, Calif., on Saturday.
The next set of rankings will be released on Feb. 27.
NCAA West Region Rankings (No. 1; Feb. 20)
1. Saint Martin's
2. Point Loma
3. Cal Poly Pomona
4. Northwest Nazarene
5. Seattle Pacific
6. UC San Diego
7. CHAMINADE
8. Cal State East Bay
9. Western Oregon
10. Concordia Irvine
