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Feb. 11, 2009

BELLINGHAM, Wash. - The Western Washington University men climbed one spot to second and the Viking women remained fourth in the latest NCAA Division II West Region basketball polls released Wednesday.

The regional rankings, compiled by the NCAA for all eight DII regions, determine NCAA Tournament qualification. They will be released every Wednesday through March 4, leading to the announcement of the playoff field on March 8.

In the West Region, the weekly poll eventually determines which five teams receive at-large berths and join the Great Northwest Athletic Conference, California Collegiate Athletic Association and Pacific West Conference champions in the NCAA playoffs.

The GNAC and PacWest determine their automatic berths by the regular season standings. The CCAA automatic berth is determined by a post-season tournament. BYU Hawaii remained atop the men's poll, followed by Western, Cal State Dominguez Hills, Central Washington, Humboldt State, Seattle Pacific, Chaminade, Cal State San Bernardino, Cal Poly Pomona and Dixie State.

The women's poll has nationally No.1-rated Alaska Anchorage on top, followed by UC San Diego, Seattle Pacific, Western, Cal Poly Pomona, Humboldt State, Cal State Dominguez Hills, Grand Canyon, Chico State and Northwest Nazarene.

Under new guidelines announced earlier this week, if the playoffs were to begin tomorrow, the men's regional would be an eight-team format (since two Hawaii teams are in top 8) and the women's regional would be two four-team tournaments (at Alaska Anchorage and UC San Diego).

The Western men, ranked No.25 nationally, are 15-3 and riding a five-game winning streak. They are on the road this week for contests at Saint Martin's on Thursday (7:30 p.m.) and Western Oregon on Saturday (7 p.m.).

The Viking women are 14-5, also with wins in their last five contests. They are at Alaska Anchorage on Thursday (5:15 p.m. AT) and at Alaska Fairbanks on Saturday (5:15 p.m. AT).