CHARLOTTE, N.C.- After being stuck at #13 in the NJCAA National Poll for six straight weeks , the Florida SouthWestern State Buccaneers finally caught a break on Wednesday, moving up two spots to #11, the highest ranking in program history, as they sit in the midst of a 22 game winning streak heading into their game Wednesday night.
The 26-2 Bucs haven't lost since early November and later avenged both early season losses to Broward and DME. Riding a 22 game winning streak, the Bucs have long clinched their second straight Suncoast Conference Championship and thus the #1 seed for the upcoming Region VIII Tournament from the conference. FSW's 22 game streak is the third longest active streak in the country behind #1 Wabash and #17 Miles. Their 21 wins over NJCAA Division I foes are fifth most in the country. According to the Massey Ratings, a non-biased, computer based rankings system, the Bucs have played the 16th most difficult schedule in the country this season.
It was a wild week in NJCAA Women's Basketball last week and the week 11 poll reflected that as not a single team in the top 25 remained in the same spot this week as they were last week. Undefeated Wabash Valley took over the top spot while Seward County moved up to #2, Gulf Coast climbed four spots to #3 while South Plains and Trinity Valley each fell three spots to #4 and #5 after losses last week. The biggest riser was Tyler who knocked off Angelina to move up six spots from #14 to #8 while Jones County, Angelina, and Chipola each tumbled out of the top 10 to #13, #14, and #15 after defeats last week.
The five Region VIII teams, including the Bucs continue to dominate the rankings as Gulf Coast leads the pack at #3, Northwest Florida State comes in at #7, Tallahassee rises back into the top 10 at #9, FSW at #11, and Chipola at #15. Santa Fe also received votes for the poll this week.
The Bucs are back in action tonight at home in Suncoast Credit Union Arena where they take on IMG Academy in a 5:30 tip before closing out the regular season on Saturday at home in a 12 noon matinee against Eastern Florida State on Sophomore Day in the arena.