INDIANAPOLIS - Ashland leads the three Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference men's basketball teams, and Grand Valley State paces the three GLIAC women's teams ranked among the top eight in this week's NCAA Basketball Midwest Region polls.
NCAA regional rankings along with automatic qualifiers determine the Men's and Women's Basketball NCAA DII Tournament fields.
Ashland is fifth, Ferris State seventh and Northern Michigan eighth in the men's poll, which was determined prior to Tuesday's GLIAC Men's Basketball Tournament quarterfinals. Lewis is the region's top-ranked men's team. GLIAC Tournament host top seed Davenport will not have full NCAA DII status until 2019-20.
The GVSU women's team is third behind Drury and Lewis, while Ashland is fourth and Michigan Tech eighth. Northern Michigan is on the bubble in ninth place.
NCAA Tournament bids will be announced Sunday.