RSC Men's Basketball Update Feb. 6: Three teams in NAIA DII Top 25 Poll
MIDDLETOWN, Ohio -- The River States Conference Men's Basketball Update for Feb. 6 comes to you a day after three teams were mentioned in the NAIA Division II Men's Basketball Coaches' Top 25 Poll. That group was led by No. 14-ranked IU Kokomo and "receiving votes" teams IU East and WVU Tech in the rankings on Feb. 5, 2020.
In the first poll since Jan. 15, IU Kokomo continued to pace the conference in the national ratings with the RSC West Division leader at 20-5 overall, 9-2 RSC heading into the weekend. The Cougars picked up a 91-81 victory over Midway (Ky.) on Tuesday to maintain a half game lead in the division.
IU East moved back into the "receiving votes" category this week and is rated No. 28 overall in the country. The Red Wolves have worked their way up with a current win streak of seven games. They have won 10 of their last 11 games overall and are 17-9 and 11-1 RSC. IU East got a divisional win over Rio Grande (Ohio), 79-57, on Tuesday to keep a virtual tie atop the RSC East Division.
WVU Tech also has a share of the RSC East lead and is now 17-7 overall, 11-1 RSC. The Golden Bears have won six in a row and nine of their last 10 overall. That included a win over then-No. 12 IU Kokomo last weekend and Tuesday's victory over Ohio Christian. WVU Tech moved into the top 40 teams in the country and into the receiving votes category. The only conference loss is to IU East on the road, and round two of the key matchup will take place this Saturday in the highlight game on the schedule.
IU East and WVU Tech have a 5.5 game lead over the rest of the RSC East, a group that includes playoff contenders Point Park (5-6 RSC), Rio Grande (4-8 RSC) and Ohio Christian (4-8 RSC).
IU Southeast (16-7, 9-3 RSC) beat Alice Lloyd (Ky.), 99-81, on Tuesday to stay within a half game of the RSC West lead. Alice Lloyd (6-6 RSC) remained in third place in the division despite the loss. Midway (5-7 RSC) is currently in the fourth and final playoff spot in the RSC West with Brescia (Ky.) beating Asbury (Ky.) on Tuesday night in a key game deciding the last two spots of the division.
There are five RSC games coming up on Saturday with the big one being (RV) IU East at (RV) WVU Tech. Ohio Christian will visit Rio Grande with the winner taking a hold of fourth place in the RSC East. Point Park goes to IU Kokomo for a cross-division game while RSC West matchups feature Brescia at Alice Lloyd and IU Southeast at Asbury.
Follow RiverStatesConference.com for links to live coverage for each game on Saturday. Follow on Twitter @RiverStatesConf and @RSCScores.
RSC MEN'S BASKETBALL -- SATURDAY, FEB. 8
Brescia at Alice Lloyd, 3 p.m.
iU Southeast at Asbury, 3 p.m.
Point Park at No. 14 IU Kokomo, 3 p.m.
(RV) IU East at (RV) WVU Tech, 3 p.m.
Ohio Christian at Rio Grande, 3 p.m.