RSC Men's Basketball Update Feb. 19: Division Titles wrapped up entering final weekend
MIDDLETOWN, Ohio -- The River States Conference Men's Basketball Update for Feb. 19 comes to you in the final week of the regular season. It's already been an eventful final week. The final games of the RSC regular season are Thursday and Saturday with playoffs next week.
Tuesday night's games were highlighted by IU Southeast beating visiting No. 16 IU Kokomo, 77-67, to claim the RSC West Division title. The Grenadiers bumped their win streak to seven games and reached the 20-win mark. At 20-7 overall, 13-3 RSC, IU Southeast holds the tiebreakers over IU Kokomo (23-6, 12-3 RSC) regardless of this weekend's outcomes.
This past weekend, WVU Tech wrapped up the RSC East Division title and the overall RSC Regular Season Championship. The Golden Bears did so with a 79-65 victory at Point Park (Pa.) to improve to 20-7 overall, 14-1 RSC. WVU Tech has the tiebreakers over IU East (19-10, 13-2 RSC) the rest of the way and carries a nine-game win streak into the weekend.
The pace-setters in each division have carried the flag for RSC men's basketball all year. The same was true in the NAIA Division II Men's Basketball Coaches' Top 25 Poll that was released on Wednesday, Feb. 19. The RSC had two teams in the Top 25 and a third mentioned as "receiving votes'.
IU Kokomo came in at No. 16 to lead the way followed by WVU Tech breaking into the rankings at No. 20 following the regular-season title. IU East was knocking at the door at No. 26 overall in the country and "receiving votes." IU Southeast's big win on Tuesday night and subsequent overtaking of the RSC West did not factor into the Feb. 19 rankings, but the Grenadiers can continue to make their case for the RSC getting four teams mentioned. There will be a Top 25 poll released on Feb. 26, the final one of the regular season.
The RSC Championship qualifiers have been decided with all that's left being seeding. Point Park and Ohio Christian square off on Saturday in Pittsburgh with the winner getting third place in the RSC East and the loser taking fourth. Likewise, Alice Lloyd (Ky.) and Midway (Ky.) will decide third and fourth in the RSC West based on their weekend results. Alice Lloyd hosts Asbury (Ky.) on Thursday and then goes to Midway on Saturday for a head-to-head showdown.
There are a total of five games this weekend including Saturday's divisional clashes featuring No. 20 WVU Tech at Rio Grande (Ohio), (RV) IU East at Carlow (Pa.) and Brescia (Ky.) at No. 16 IU Kokomo. Follow RiverStatesConference.com for links to live video and stats coverage.