University of Southern Indiana Men’s Basketball rose to seventh in the third NCAA Division II Midwest Region poll of 2017-18.
On top of the Midwest Region is third-ranked Ferris State University, a member of the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, and 14th-ranked University of Findlay, a member of the Great Midwest Athletic Conference. The Great Lakes Valley Conference’s and sixth-ranked Bellarmine University and the GLIAC’s Lake Superior State University round out the top four teams at third and fourth, respectively.
Hillsdale College moved up one spot to fifth with Drury University jumping from seventh to sixth. USI followed up one spot to seventh in the third poll, while the University of Indianapolis rounded out the top eight.
Walsh University and Truman State University were in the final two spots at ninth and 10th, respectively. The GLVC has five teams in the third poll, while the G-MAC and GLIAC have three and  two teams, respectively.
The top eight teams from the Midwest Region advance to the NCAA Division II Tournament at the end of the season. The regional is routinely hosted by the top seed in the regional.
USI will be the sixth seed and play third-seeded Drury University at 2:30 p.m. Friday in the opening round of the Great Lakes Valley Conference Basketball Tournament at the Vadalabene Center on the campus of Southern Illinois University Edwardsville in Edwardsville, Illinois.
The Screaming Eagles finished the 2017-18 regular season with a 20-10 overall record, 11-7 in the GLVC, placing third in the GLVC East Division, while Drury clinched a share of the GLVC West Division title with a 20-6 overall mark, 13-5 GLVC.
Prior to the USI-Drury match-up on Friday, the GLVC Tournament opening game will feature second-seeded Truman State University (18-9, 13-5 GLVC) versus seventh-seeded Lewis University (15-13, 10-8 GLVC) at noon. The second half of the quarterfinals has top-seeded Bellarmine University (25-2, 16-2 GLVC) taking on eighth-seeded William Jewell College (20-8, 10-8 GLVC) at 6 p.m. and fourth-seeded University of Indianapolis (18-8, 12-6 GLVC) facing fifth-seeded Maryville University (20-7, 12-6 GLVC) in the final game at 8:30 p.m.
Game coverage for all of USI’s game action, including live stats, video stream, and audio broadcasts, is available at GoUSIEagles.com. The games also can be heard on ESPN 97.7 WREF and 95.7FM The Spin.
