SELINSGROVE, Pa. – The Susquehanna University men's basketball team is fourth in this week's NCAA Division III Middle Atlantic Region rankings, which were released Tuesday and reflected games through Sunday, January 23.
At the time of the ranking, Susquehanna was 11-4 under 11th-year head coach Frank Marcinek. The Crusaders improved to 12-4 and won for the eighth time in their last nine games with a 73-65 home win Monday over MAC Freedom Conference co-leader Scranton, which was also an Honorable Mention selection in this week's regional poll.
"I'm not going to get too excited about that (being ranked) because I want are team to be more concerned with winning our game Wednesday at Messiah. We know the best way to make the NCAA Tournament is winning our league and getting the automatic bid that goes with it this season," said Marcinek, who is the most successful men's basketball coach in Susquehanna history – now at 158-111 (.587).
Susquehanna became one of three MAC Commonwealth Conference teams ranked in the region's top four this week – joining second-ranked Albright (11-3) and third-ranked Widener (12-3). The Crusaders knocked off previously top-ranked Albright (60-58) on Saturday, and will play at Widener in a key MAC Commonwealth Conference game Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m.
The winner of the Commonwealth and Freedom Conference will be two of the five automatic bids to come from this region to the NCAA Division III Tournament's 48-team field. Thirty-three conference champions will get automatic bids, with the other 15 teams coming from an at-large basis, using regional selection criteria.
Susquehanna resumes play Wednesday with an 8 p.m. MAC Commonwealth Conference contest at Widener.
This is the second time in three seasons Marcinek has directed his team to a 12-4 start. Despite returning just one regular starter, Marcinek has guided the team to a remarkable turnaround from last season when the squad was just 9-14. The Crusaders had a 5-11 record through 16 games a year ago.
1999-2000 NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Regional Rankings
