It's March! This week, you get the final DII men's and women's basketball Power 10 rankings of the regular season as well as a region-by-region breakdown of both basketball championship brackets. Don't forget, help spread the word and please (and check the DII Newsletter box) to anyone you think should be getting this newsletter in their inbox every Tuesday.
📊 Grand Valley State, Nova Southeastern top the latest Power 10s
The bracket is filled and we’re ready for DII tournament basketball. Before we get to my preview, here are the men’s and women’s final Power 10 rankings of the regular season. The next rankings will be after a champion is crowned and the final of the 2024 season.
Reminder: This season I have been using stats from InkblotSports. You can see those metrics — which include RPI and PI amongst other selection metrics — .
The final DII men's basketball Power 10 for the regular season (through 3/10/24)
No. 1 Nova Southeastern | Previous: 1. The Sharks are officially a DII powerhouse. The turnover this roster had this season and to still be SSC champions and the clear-cut No. 1 team in DII is remarkable.
No. 2 Minnesota State | Previous: 3. The South Central and Central are the two toughest regions in DII men’s basketball, and Minnesota State is No. 1 one of them. The Mavericks defeated a really good, fellow Power 10-er Minnesota Duluth by 20 points for the NSIC title.
No. 3 Fort Lewis | Previous: 4. For the Skyhawks to win the RMAC tournament, they had to beat two nationally ranked teams — Colorado School of Mines and Colorado Mesa — in consecutive days. They did just that, winning both games by double digits.
No. 4 Northwest Missouri State | Previous: 5. The closest an opponent has come to the Bearcats in March is 13 points. When Northwest Missouri State’s defense is rolling and the offense is cooking, well, it just feels like March.
No. 5 Gannon | Previous: 6. I don’t care one bit if I sound like a broken record. What head coach Jordan Fee did in one year — taking a 3-23 team to 29 wins and winning a very tough PSAC and leading DII in scoring offense — is nothing short of mindblowing.
No. 6 Colorado Mesa | Previous: 7. It gets really tough after the top five. There were a bunch of losses in the Nos. 6-15 window that affected this, but let’s remember the Mavericks weren’t upset. They lost to Fort Lewis in the conference finals. In fact, this squad has just two losses in 2024, and both are to a really strong Fort Lewis.
No. 7 Cal (PA) | Previous: 8. The Vulcans had a lead on Gannon heading into the second half of the PSAC championship until the Golden Knights seemingly forgot how to miss. KJ McClurg is a stud, this defense has been pretty solid for the better part of a month, and they did hand Gannon one of its two losses this year.
No. 8 Minnesota Duluth | Previous: 9. Sure, the Bulldogs got smoked in the NSIC finals, but they were on a 13-game winning streak and looked like one of the best teams in DII prior to that. This team could be trouble in the DII tournament.
No. 9 West Texas A&M | Previous: 2. The Buffs still have the top RPI and PI in arguably the toughest region in DII. However, they have three losses in their last four games, two of which came to teams that weren’t in any regional rankings.
No. 10 (tied) Charleston (WV), West Georgia | Previous: 10 (tied), First five out, respectively. Charleston (WV) defeated West Liberty for a third time to win the MEC tournament. The MEC is dominating the Atlantic with four of the eight teams, and the Golden Eagles are the top dog.
West Georgia struggled a bit down the stretch, losing two of its last four regular-season games. But the Wolves found what made them a top-10 team in the Gulf South tournament, capturing the title after a heartbreaking two-point loss in the championship game last year.
The final DII women's basketball Power 10 rankings of the regular season
(all stats and records through Sunday, March 10)
No. 1 Grand Valley State | Previous: 2. How did the Lakers jump Ashland? They closed out the season with wins over Wisconsin-Parkside (twice), Ferris State, Northern Michigan (twice), and Michigan Tech — all of which were in the final regional rankings — in a nine-game span. They allowed more than 63 points… once.
No. 2 Ashland | Previous: 1. The Eagles are 100 percent the 1B to 1A. The Midwest Region is the toughest in DII women’s basketball, so it comes down to minute details that separate the Eagles and Lakers. If Annie Roshak wins back-to-back titles, she’ll arguably be the best player in program history… and that says a lot.
No. 3 Valdosta State | Previous: 6. The last time the Blazers lost was by six points way back on Nov. 25 to Lee… the same team they just defeated to win the Gulf South tourney for the first time since 2017. No team in DII, men’s or women’s, has a longer winning streak than the Blazers’ 26 games.
No. 4 Azusa Pacific | Previous: 4. The Cougars are another team on absolute fire, winners of their last 24. Their last loss was on Nov. 21, a four-point doozy to Cal State LA… which happens to be their first-round opponent. This is a much different team, however; the starting five is one of the deepest in DII as all can score, rebound and dish out assists.
No. 5 Gannon | Previous: 8. The Golden Knights are rolling, winners of 32 games on the season. They had to defeat a pair of tournament teams in West Chester and Lock Haven to win their third PSAC title in four years. The polar opposite of their men’s counterparts, the women’s team thrives on defense, allowing a stingy 52.6 points per game this season.
No. 6 Texas Woman’s | Previous: 9. The Pioneers won the Lone Star Conference and hold the No. 1 seed in the South Central. They are 19-1 in 2024 — P.S., not many of those wins have been close — and they avenged that lone four-point loss to UTPB in the LSC championship game. Ashley Ingram is playing very well of late, closing the LSC tourney with a double double.
No. 7 Southern Nazarene | Previous: 5. The Crimson Storm have had a sensational season, but losing in the GAC semifinals when the teams ahead won their tournaments sees them fall. The team is really balanced, but Hannah Giddey continues to stand out; she’s on absolute fire right now with three double-doubles in her past five games.
No. 8 Bentley | Previous: Not ranked. After an early February hiccup, the Falcons showed they may just be the team to beat in the East Region with an impressive run through the NE10 tournament. This is another team that goes as the defense goes, owning a top-10 scoring defense in DII, which fares well in the low-scoring East Region.
No. 9 Ferris State | Previous: 7. I simply can’t leave a team that has shown it can beat Grand Valley State, Ashland and Northern Michigan — three of the very best teams in DII women’s basketball this season — out of the Power 10.
No. 10 (tied) Union (TN), Fayetteville State | Previous: First five out, Not ranked, respectively. Union (TN) lost to Lee in the GSC semifinals, but this team is still an offensive spark plug, leading DII women’s basketball in points per game. Fayetteville State makes its Power 10 debut, entering the tournament on a 13-game winning streak and two big-time players in Aniylah Bryant and Talia Trotter.
Snubbed? Jefferson. I get people thinking I am nuts leaving the No. 3 team in the WBCA poll out of my Power 10 but hear me out. Jefferson has played the weakest SOS of any of the 64 teams in the bracket and of their 30 wins, just eight have come against teams that finished the regular season with a winning record. The Rams are good, and likely, 11 or 12, but because the metrics play a part in the Power 10, they just miss.
Previewing the men’s and women’s basketball championship brackets
This time of year, I typically share my predictions for every game of the DII men’s and women’s basketball championship. This year, I am simply taking a region-by-region look at each team I think will make the DII Elite Eight and one team that could surprise and make it there.
Full disclosure: 2023-24 was a season unlike any other over, pretty much, the past decade. We have no undefeated teams looking for a national championship in either the men’s or women’s bracket, and the men’s side doesn’t even have a single one-loss team in the hunt. To put that in perspective, 50 percent of the past 10 women’s champions have run the table, while two undefeated men’s teams and three one-loss men’s teams were national champions over the same span. The point is, there was a lot of parity this year, and the field of 64 may be more level than ever.
The DII men’s basketball championship, predicted (kind of)
Atlantic
🏆 Team to beat: Gannon. Last year’s finals were a matchup of high-scoring guru Jim Crutchfield against his former protégé Ben Howlett. Gannon head coach Jordan Fee sat next to Crutchfield last year and has now completely turned around the Golden Knights on a historic level. It could be another master vs. apprentice showdown in the DII Men’s Elite Eight.
👀 Team to watch: West Liberty. Remember what I just said about Ben Howlett? West Liberty and Gannon look destined for a second-round matchup. No team outside of Nova Southeastern has a larger advantage than the Hilltoppers over Gannon, knowing exactly what kind of offensive and defensive attack they are about to face.
Central
🏆 Team to beat: Northwest Missouri State. Honestly, until head coach Ben McCollum leaves, this will be the team to beat. It took them time to gel, but here we are, in March once again and the Bearcats enter the tournament on a 16-game winning streak. Minnesota State is a really good team, but the Bearcats in March are on a different level.
👀 Team to watch: Minnesota Duluth. The Bulldogs have a very intriguing first-round matchup in Fort Hays State, which owns the best scoring defense in DII. Should they get past that, a potential matchup with the Bearcats — the No. 2 scoring defense in DII — awaits. You can argue no team has a tougher road to the DII Men’s Elite Eight, which makes them worth watching.
East
🏆 Team to beat: St. Thomas Aquinas. Saint Michael’s is a good story, improving by 11 wins to land the No. 1 seed. However, where Saint Michael’s has struggled down the stretch, the Spartans have turned it on, winning their last six in a row and the ECC crown. STAC has reached the East Region finals in three of the past four seasons and looks like it may be heading back again.
👀 Team to watch: Daemen. I know the Wildcats lost to St. Thomas Aquinas in the ECC finals, but this team was cooking prior to that. They had won eight in a row, including a victory over the very same Spartans. Dylan Fasoyiro has been red-hot lately, with at least 20 points in six of his last eight games.
Midwest
🏆 Team to beat: Walsh. This part of the bracket is crazy, and I considered Ferris State strongly here. Neither the Cavaliers nor the Bulldogs have a particularly impressive strength of schedule, but Walsh has a top-5 scoring defense in DII. If defense truly does win championships, then Walsh is in a good spot.
👀 Team to watch: Everyone else. The top five in the final Midwest regional rankings were all upset in their conference tournaments. This region is as wide open as it gets, and one year after No. 8 McKendree made a surprise run to the Midwest finals, I wouldn’t be surprised to witness utter chaos and see No. 7 Upper Iowa or No. 8 William Jewell make it through to the DII Men’s Elite Eight.
South
🏆 Team to beat: Nova Southeastern. Does this need an explanation? Okay, fine. The Sharks are defending national champs, have been to three of the past four DII Men’s Elite Eights, and are red-hot amid a 15-game winning streak. They could very well be back in the finals this year.
👀 Team to watch: Florida Southern. I don’t know that anyone can top the Sharks, but I am curious to see what the Mocs can do. This team lost one of the best players in DII men’s basketball two games into the season and is still here. Alex Steen, another star player who missed a ton of time injured, returned to full strength with a double-double in the SSC tourney. Fully healthy, this team makes a deep run… What can they do with the lineup they have?
South Central
🏆 Team to beat: Fort Lewis. Is it finally the Skyhawks year? It has to be. They defeated Colorado Mesa — a fellow Power 10-er all season — twice, the second of which was to win the RMAC conference tournament. The Skyhawks faithful felt they should be hosting the South Central, so there will be a chip on their shoulders.
👀 Team to watch: Eastern New Mexico. I had Lubbock Christian as the team to watch, but an unlucky draw pits them against Fort Lewis in Round 1. So, why not the team that beat the Chaps at the buzzer in the Lone Star tournament? Colorado Mesa is no easy first-round opponent, but the Greyhounds are back for the first time since 2004 and already showing some of that Cinderella mystique.
Southeast
🏆 Team to beat: North Georgia. The Nighthawks captured their first-ever PBC tournament championship, so why not keep rewriting their history books? It’s been a rollercoaster of a season, but if you look at the big picture, four of their six losses were by five points or less. Frank Champion is one of the best and the kind of player that makes magic happen in March.
👀 Team to watch: Lincoln Memorial. Despite the eight losses, Lincoln Memorial still has a top-3 RPI in the region. That’s because the Railsplitters played a pretty tough schedule, especially to open the season. I just think that if a team with Martez Brown, Chase Rankin and Me’Kell Burries gets hot, the Southeast is in trouble.
West
🏆 Team to beat: Cal State LA. Two unranked teams won the GNAC and PacWest, proving once again why I’ve always called it the Wild West. That flips the region on its head… but you know who handled business? The Golden Eagles — which defeated then-No. 1 in the West Cal State San Bernardino for the second time to win their first-ever CCAA title. Cal State LA has a ton of momentum and a slew of significant wins and could make some more history this week.
👀 Team to watch: Central Washington. The Wildcats are hoping that game-winning three against No. 1 MSU Billings with one second remaining in the GNAC semifinals is not the only March magic they have. This could be one of the Cinderellas for 2024. For the record, I do like Cal State San Bernardino’s matchups for a repeat run to the DII Men’s Elite Eight.
Predicting the DII women’s basketball championship
Atlantic
🏆 Team to beat: Gannon. Historically speaking, the Golden Knights are in luck: The last three Atlantic Region champions have been the No. 1 seed. The Golden Knights have that top-5 scoring defense and Samantha Pirosko has been unconscious in March, scoring 72 points over two PSAC tournament games. The Golden Knights were upset in Round 1 last year, and may have a chip on their shoulder.
👀 Team to watch: Fayetteville State. Going back to recent history, the three seasons prior to the No. 1-seed run were won by No. 3 seeds. The last time we saw a CIAA team in the DII Women’s Elite Eight was 2018, so the Broncos — with that 13-game winning streak — may be the team to return.
Central
🏆 Team to beat: Minnesota State. The Mavericks were No. 5 in my preseason Power 10, and by Nov. 24, they were 2-4. You know what that means? Minnesota State is 24-1 since, capturing the NSIC tournament title along the way. This team is playing like we thought it should be back in October.
👀 Team to watch: Pittsburg State. The Gorillas have a tough first round matchup but look what they did to get here. They defeated Missouri Southern, Missouri Western and Fort Hays State — all regionally ranked teams — to secure a spot in the bracket with its first MIAA tournament title in program history. The Central is a gauntlet, but the Gorillas could continue to play spoiler.
East
🏆 Team to beat: Bentley. I always like to look at history as a means of gauging what happens in the bracket. Yes, Bentley is the third No. 1 seed in a row I picked to advance — last year, seven of the eight No. 1s advanced and over the past five years, at least three No. 1s have advanced to the DII Elite Eight in every year but 2019. Bentley played well in the NE10 tournament and look to keep it rolling.
👀 Team to watch: Jefferson. My real dark horse here is Saint Rose being that it is the last year of its program. However, going back to history, the East has no rhyme, reason, or repeats whatsoever. Jefferson has made four of the past five tournaments, and despite having one of the best records in the region over that span, have failed to make it to the DII Elite Eight. Sam Yencha and Morgan Robinson are two very good reasons to end that streak this year.
Midwest
🏆 Team to beat: Ashland. I know. You’re asking how I can have Grand Valley State at No. 1 in the Power 10, yet Ashland is the team to beat? The bottom line is Ashland is the defending national champion and has one loss in the past two years. Can the Lakers beat Ashland? Absolutely, but until they do, Ashland has the largest target on its back in the entire tournament.
👀 Team to watch: Grand Valley State. Bold move, picking the No. 1 seed as the team to watch, isn’t it? Bottom line is in any other region not only are the Lakers the favorite to win the region, they are a favorite to reach the championship game. This defense is insane and they have lost one DII game all year. March Ashland is its own beast, but this defense seems like it has the secret recipe to figure out the Eagles.
South
🏆 Team to beat: Valdosta State. The way this team is playing, they aren’t just the team to beat here, but maybe the entire bracket. The Blazers have won 26 games in a row, including beating Union (TN) twice. They have a top-10 scoring defense while putting up just over 72 points per game for a top-10 scoring margin in DII. This team wasn’t just winning games, they were dominating.
👀 Team to watch: Eckerd. The Tritons were pretty darn good the past two seasons but lost quite a bit from those teams, which took time to adjust in 2023-24. However, when the calendar flipped to February, they looked a lot more like those past teams, defeating Tampa twice since Feb. 7, including the big SSC championship game victory to get Eckerd dancing. The Tritons have a nightmare matchup in Round 1, but if the momentum keeps going, it could be trouble.
South Central
🏆 Team to beat: Texas Woman’s. The South Central has a high success rate for the No. 1 seed, and the Pioneers have been on fire since the calendar turned to 2024. TWU has just one loss since Dec. 30 and won its first LSC tournament title since 2011. The Pioneers also opened the season with non-conference wins against tournament teams Minnesota State, MSU Billings and Colorado School of Mines. This could be the year the Pioneers take the big leap forward.
👀 Team to watch: Lubbock Christian. Have you ever watched DII women’s basketball? Of course you are paying attention to the Chaps in March. Last year, as the seven seed, they went to the South Central finals and were two baskets away from yet another DII Elite Eight appearance. Colorado Mesa is no easy task in the first round, but neither was Texas Woman’s last year when they pulled off a similar 7/2 upset.
Southeast
🏆 Team to beat: Wingate. I really like Catawba. However — and I pointed this out earlier in the year — when Catawba loses, which is rare, it is in a big, double-digit way. Two of those big losses were to the Bulldogs, including the 13-point SAC semifinals victory for Wingate. The Bulldogs are coming in hot, winners of eight of their last nine, and with Lenoir-Rhyne and Catawba in the upper half of the bracket, they have some favorable matchups to get things started.
👀 Team to watch: Georgia Southwestern. I feel like the Hurricanes never get the love they deserve. They put together another 26-win season and won their second-straight Peach Belt tournament championship in come-from-behind fashion. They don’t have a dominant scorer, which can hurt this time of year, but they shoot pretty well and make sure their opponents don’t.
West
🏆 Team to beat: Azusa Pacific. I have been extremely high on the Cougars all year. They were a tournament-ready team out of the gates, having won at least one DII tourney game in each of the past four years with consecutive trips to the DII Women’s Elite Eight sprinkled in along the way. The balance in their starting five — everyone scores at least nine points per game, four of the five average at least six rebounds per game, and three of the five have at least 71 assists and 55 steals — is extremely dangerous.
👀 Team to watch: Cal State San Marcos. Another pack of Cougars has been on the brink of something big for the past few years. Winners of their second-straight CCAA tournament, CSUSM inches closer to the DII Women’s Elite Eight each year, losing in the West Region finals in 2023. The road is not easy, but head coach Renee Jimenez is proving she’s a winner, so maybe this is their year.
👀 What Wayne's Watching 👀
🏆 TOURNEY TIME! 🏆
It’s time to crown some champions. Here’s how to follow the season finales to the DII winter season.
The 2024 DII men’s and women’s basketball tournaments will be available to watch on the NCAA Championship Pass from the first round to the quarterfinals. The NCAA Championship Pass can be streamed on krikya18.com, participating school sites, , , , and . All 120 available games are available HERE.
⛹🏽 Follow the 2024 DII men’s basketball championship on krikya18.com here.
⛹🏼♀️ Follow the 2024 DII women’s basketball championship on krikya18.com here.
🏊🏻♀️ DII swimming and diving championships, March 12-16: Participants, schedule, and results.
🤼♀️ DII wrestling championships, March 15-16: Participants, schedule, and results.
Baseball
⚾️ Grand Valley State at Seton Hill, March 15-16
⚾️ North Greenville at UNC Pembroke, March 15-16
⚾️ Quincy at Maryville, March 16-17
Softball
🥎 East Stroudsburg at Wilmington (DE), March 12
🥎 Rogers State at Washburn, March 15
🥎 Northwest Nazarene at Western Washington, March 15-16
DII lacrosse
🥍 MEN'S: No. 2 Rollins at No. 6 UIndy, March 16
🥍 WOMEN'S: No. 4 Tampa at No. 13 UIndy, Sunday, March 17
Stars of the Week (ish)
The Pittsburg State men and Adams State women each repeated as national champions at the DII indoor track and field championships. You can check out every result and national champion here.
Crazy eights. Angelina Porcello of defending national champion Pace women’s lacrosse scored eight goals (a new Setters’ record) on eight shots and forced eight turnovers (tying her own program record) in a 16-12 win over No. 5 Florida Southern in a rematch of the 2023 national semifinals.
There was no change atop the Most Dominant Wrestler Award standings. The most dominant wrestler in Division II remains Scott Joll from UNC Pembroke, who increased his lead to 5.48-5.04 over West Liberty’s Ty McGeary. Anthony Yacovetti of Lander overtook Joll for the falls lead with 16 and Max Shore of Tiffin leads DII in tech falls with 14.
On the Radar
🏈 2024 NFL Draft, April 25-27.
🏆 The 2024 DII Championships Festival (Spring), May 19-25: This includes men’s and women’s tennis, men’s and women’s golf, women’s lacrosse, and softball. Visit the DII Festival hub.
⚾️ DII baseball championship, June 1-8.
🧢 2024 MLB Draft, July 14.
Did I miss someone or something? It sure is possible. Don’t forget to drop me a line at Wayne.Cavadi@WBD.com and get your stars of the week in by every Monday.
The views on this page do not necessarily reflect the views of the NCAA or its member institutions.
