#RSC Men's Basketball Weekly Report -- Week 8 -- Jan. 27, 2017 #RSC #RSCMBB

1/27/2017 12:00:00 AM

FLORENCE, Ky. -- The River States Conference Men's Basketball Weekly Report for Week 8 comes to you on the last weekend of January. There are many games from Thursday night to Saturday afternoon to keep up with. Look for this weekly feature at RiverStatesConference.com.

NAIA DIVISION II TOP 25 POLL
The River States Conference has three teams among the top 26 squads in the nation, this after the release of the NAIA Division II Top 25 Coaches' Poll this past Tuesday, Jan. 24. RSC East Division leader IU East (19-5, 10-1 RSC) moved up four spots to No. 7 in the nation, and second-place WVU Tech (16-5, 9-1 RSC) moved up a few spots to No. 22.

IU Southeast is just a few votes outside the Top 25 and is "receiving votes" at No. 26 overall. The Grenadiers are 16-4, 10-1 RSC to lead the RSC West Division. All three of these teams are are winning streaks with IU East and WVU Tech winners of seven in a row and IU Southeast with six straight wins.

These three top teams have have positioned the conference well in the national rankings. The next Top 25 poll will come out Feb. 7 with the NAIA's release being every two weeks. IU East visits IU Southeast for the RSC Game of the Week on Saturday while WVU Tech play at Cincinnati Christian (Friday) and at IU Kokomo (Saturday).

BUSY WEEKEND
It is not just a busy weekend at the top of the RSC standings, it is a busy weekend up and down the conference table. There are a total of 12 games from Thursday night to Saturday afternoon with teams having the chance to move up or down with just a couple weeks left after this one.

Already in the books this weekend are Thursday night's result of Brescia over Ohio Christian, 78-72, at home and Rio Grande making a big comeback to win at IU Kokomo, 72-63. Brescia moved into solo second place in the RSC West with the win. Rio Grande took control of fourth place in the East with the win, it's fourth straight conference victory.

Friday night has three more games with No. 22 WVU Tech at Cincinnati Christian (7 p.m.), Asbury at Point Park (7:30 p.m.), and Alice Lloyd at Carlow (8 p.m.).

Saturday is a big slate of six games tipping off at 2 p.m. and continuing on to 4 p.m. The big game is No. 7 IU East at (RV) IU Southeast for the RSC Game of the Week at 3 p.m. ET. Other teams getting into action include Midway at Ohio Christian (3 p.m.) and Rio Grande at Cincinnati Christian (3 p.m.). Alice Lloyd and Asbury remaining in Pittsburgh for day two of their trips switching Friday's opponents of Carlow and Point Park.

DIVISIONAL RACES
(RV) IU Southeast has opened up a 5.5 game lead in the RSC West Division at 10-1 RSC. But the next five teams separated by just 1.0 games of each other providing for a tight race for the other three playoff spots in the division. Brescia (5-7 RSC), Asbury (4-6 RSC) and IU Kokomo (4-7 RSC) enter the weekend in playoff positions.

IU East is also 10-1 RSC, but that equates to just a 1.0 game lead in the RSC East over No. 22 WVU Tech (9-1 RSC). Ohio Christian (6-5 RSC) is in third place and had won six RSC games in a row before its current two-game slide. Rio Grande has moved into a tie with OCU at 6-5, and that is followed by Point Park (4-6 RSC) and Carlow (2-7 RSC) still alive.

STRETCH INTERNET
Keep it tuned to the RSC Game Central on Stretch Internet, where nine of this weekend's 12 conference games will be broadcast. Stretch Internet is the official video streaming provider of the RSC and the RSC Championships. It is also the video home to the NAIA NAIANetwork.com. Log on to http://portal.stretchinternet.com/RSC for broadcast listings.