KEENE, N.H.—The Keene State College men's basketball team has appeared in the first set of NCAA Region II rankings, announced today by the Regional Advisory Committee.

The first set of rankings is presented alphabetically, due to a lack of results against regionally ranked teams prior to the announcement of the rankings.

Along with Keene State (21-1, 13-0 LEC), Worcester Polytechnic Institute (17-3, 9-1 NEWMAC), Western Connecticut State University (19-2, 11-2 LEC), Western New England University (16-4, 12-2 CCC), Nichols College (16-5, 12-2 CCC), and Babson College (13-8, 6-4 NEWMAC) make up the initial list of ranked teams in Region II, which is comprised of teams from the Little East Conference, the Commonwealth Coast Conference, the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference, the New England College Conference, and the University Athletic Association's Brandeis University.

The second set of regional rankings, which will be released on February 14, will be in ranked order and will include results against other regionally ranked teams.

Keene State has played several teams that appear in the various regional rankings across the country; games against regionally-ranked opponents include a pair of wins against LEC foe Western Connecticut State and a loss to Middlebury College.  Middlebury is ranked out of Region I.

Regional rankings are separate from national polls and are used to advise the NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Championship Committee when determining at-large berths to the NCAA tournament, as well as potential hosting opportunities.

Keene State's next game will come on Wednesday evening when the Owls host the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth on February 8 at 7:30 p.m.   A win will give the Owls their first Little East Conference regular season championship since 2019 and sixth since joining the league prior to the 1997-1998 season.