DBU cracks the DII men's basketball Power 10 rankings

The DII men's basketball season continues to be an enigma. The five or six consistent teams remain tough and glued to their top spots in the Power 10 rankings. Outside of that, it seems like anything is possible on any given night in a season marked by stunning losses and wild play. This week's rankings welcome two teams back into the mix that have been absent for a bit.

🖐 🏀 Jarnel Rancy swats his way to DII men's basketball history

There is no voting committee for the Power 10 rankings, and the NCAA selection committee is not involved. These are my attempt to combine selection committee metrics and what I watch in real-time. It doesn’t necessarily matchup with the NABC rankings, nor does it look to be a duplicate of regional rankings (which will be released numerically this week). As a reminder, I no longer rely on KPI as a deciding factor, and instead I will be using performance index more strongly moving forward

The DII men’s basketball Power 10 (through Sunday, Feb. 22)

DBU Athletics

No. 1 Nova Southeastern | Previous: 1. The Sharks are 22-1 and have won 16 in a row, which includes stretching their home win streak to 98 games. Incidentally, they haven’t scored fewer than 96 points in more than a month. Ross Reeves, Dallas Graziani and Jaxon Nap are high-scoring, efficient-shooting, well-oiled machines, and Ryan Davis is back after missing nearly a month, bringing muscle off the glass and championship experience to the rotation. I don’t see the Sharks losing another game in 2026.

No. 2 Gannon | Previous: 2. The Golden Knights extended their winning streak to 11 games, a winning streak that includes massive resume-building wins against Indiana (PA) and Daemen. They are one of the highest-scoring teams in all college basketball, piling on 96.8 points per game with seven players contributing more than 8.0 points per game. This team is sure to be No. 1 in the first real regional rankings this week, which is impressive in an Atlantic Region loaded with talent at the top.

No. 3 Washburn | Previous: 3. The Ichabods rebounded from their first and only loss of the season with three blowout victories, including a 82-58 stomping of Central Oklahoma to win its 12th MIAA regular season championship. Washburn is very well balanced on both sides of the court, posting nightly averages of 87.2 points while allowing 62.1. This is the No. 1 team in the Central Region right now.

No. 4 Cal State East Bay | Previous: 4. The Pioneers have wrapped up the CCAA and a first-round bye in the conference tournament with one week left to go in the regular season. They are also DII’s last remaining undefeated team, and their 26 wins are a new program single-season record. They are so far ahead of any other team in the entire West Region — PacWest and GNAC included — it is mind-boggling, and partially a curse and what keeps them at No. 4. I keep the Pioneers at No. 4 because of their strength of schedule, as Nova Southeastern, Gannon and Washburn have played top-15 schedules where the Pioneers rank 205th. Still, it will be interesting to see if any West Region team can slow these Pioneers down.

No. 5 Daemen | Previous 5. Of all the teams discussed so far, I feel most confident using the Sharpie to put the Wildcats in the DII Men’s Elite Eight. There simply isn’t a team in the East that can touch the talent on this roster, especially the starting five. Justin Glover, Zach Philipkoski, Justin Hemphill and a now-healthy Benjamin Bill would be great in any region as all four can score and defend. The Wildcats have lost three games total to East Region competition between Feb. 22, 2024, and Feb. 22, 2026 — and two of those losses were DII men’s basketball championship games. This isn’t a new concept: The East Region runs through Daemen.

No. 6 West Liberty | Previous: 7. The Hilltoppers continue their ascent up the Power 10, now winners of 13 in a row and sitting on top of the MEC with a 23-3 record. They avenged an earlier loss to nationally ranked Fairmont State in a pivotal Atlantic Region showdown, winning 96-91. West Liberty is now scoring 98.8 points per game, but it still lets up too many, allowing 81.9 points per game, a number the Hilltoppers could tighten up to ensure tournament success. Still, West Liberty has balance among its players in a very deep scoring attack.

No. 7 Oklahoma Baptist | Previous: 10. The Bison continue their stampede through the GAC, now winners of 15 in a row, picking up a tremendous, two-point victory over No. 21 Ouachita Baptist the past Saturday. Were it not for Washburn, I think the Bison would be the No. 1 team in the Central Region. Despite Terry Coner Jr. being one of the best scoring threats in DII (20.4 points per game), the Bison are not a high-scoring team and let the defense lead the way. They have allowed more than 67 points just once since Jan. 8.

Note: It’s not the first time it has been said this season; however, it deserves mention once again. Spots Nos. 8-15 are so close I can see plenty of room for debate here. Every time one of these team surges, it suffers a setback loss, leading to questions on which team is higher than the other. The 2025-26 DII men’s basketball season will be remembered as one of inconsistency, one where we may see a couple (or even more) six or seven-loss teams reach the DII Men’s Elite Eight.

No. 8 DBU | Previous: First five out. Again, it isn’t how you start, but how you finish. DBU was a top-5 team entering the season, but a slow start left them forgotten at the halfway point. But since Jan. 1, they are 13-2 with a big win over Lubbock Christian and currently hold the top RPI in a deep South Central Region. The starting five is clicking, and has some nice experience — especially in Xavion Brown and Trevor Frank — leading the way from last year’s national semifinals team. This may be a high ranking right now, especially with losses to Eastern New Mexico and St. Edward’s, but the Patriots get this spot because they look like they very well can win the LSC tournament right now.

No. 9 Lubbock Christian | Previous: First five out. The Chaps continue their roller coaster ride in and out of the Power 10. Now, amid a four-game winning streak, they reclaim their spot, thanks in part to losses by other teams ahead of them. That said, it will be interesting to see how they land in the regional rankings. They have a higher RPI, PI and KPI than LSC foes like DBU, Eastern New Mexico and St. Edward’s, but they also have losses to DBU and ENMU. The Lone Star has five tournament-worthy teams, so it will be interesting to see how the next two weeks unfold.

No. 10 Anderson (SC) | Previous: 6. The Trojans stick around, despite that Valentine’s Day stunner to Lincoln Memorial. This is still a 24-2 team that owns the top RPI and PI in the Southeast Region. They also avenged one of those two losses this past Saturday, taking down a very tricky and under-the-radar UVA Wise team. Osmar Garcia-Araujo is one of the best players in DII men’s basketball and is a force on the glass, on defense and with the ball in his hands. I really like the way Lander is gelling right now, but the Trojans look like a tough out in the Southeast Region.

First five out (in alphabetical order)

• Eastern New Mexico: In the 10 seasons prior to this year, the Greyhounds had eclipsed the 20-win mark just once, with 22 wins at the conclusion of the 2023-24 season. They now sit at 22-4 with two regular season games to go as one of the biggest turnaround stories in DII this year.
• Fairmont State: Despite the Fighting Falcons’ recent loss to West Liberty, this is a still a very strong team. Let’s not forget, they dropped 91 points in the five-point loss. They have six players averaging at least 10 points per game, which will make it tough on defenses come tourney time.
• Grand Valley State: Two losses in their last four games is not the best optics for this pick; however, when you look at the top of the Midwest Region, the Lakers have swept nationally ranked Michigan Tech and split with nationally ranked Northern Michigan with a key 19-point victory over regionally ranked Ashland mixed into the equation. The Lakers hold the key to a wide array of tiebreakers.
• Lander: There is some recency bias here, because the Bearcats are red-hot. They also are tied for the second-best RPI in the Southeast Region with Lenoir-Rhyne (which was considered here) which is better than Michigan Tech’s RPI (which was also considered here). They split with Columbus State and North Georgia and have the slight edge on the PBC right now. They also have a key non-con win against regionally ranked Catawba. This was tight, but I think Lander is the pick right now.
• West Alabama: The Tigers edge out Palm Beach Atlantic for a few reasons. For one, even though Palm Beach Atlantic is an impressive four-loss team, three of those have come in the last eight games. West Alabama has the edge in PI, but PBA has the fractional edge in both RPI and KPI. It’s really close, but West Alabama’s six-game winning streak gives it the edge for now.