McLean County Times

Illinois Wesleyan University's men's basketball team has achieved a significant milestone by moving up to ninth place in the D3hoops.com Top-25 poll. This ranking comes as the team prepares to enter the NCAA Division III Tournament. The latest poll, released on March 3, shows a reshuffling of positions among top teams, with New York University taking the lead after receiving nine first-place votes and 607 points.

UW-Platteville follows closely with 596 points and eight first-place votes. Last week's leader, Wesleyan, dropped to third place but still garnered eight first-place votes and 589 points. Trinity (Conn.) and UW-La Crosse complete the top five with 546 and 498 points respectively.

Illinois Wesleyan's rise from sixteenth to ninth position was bolstered by their recent victories over Augustana (70-65) and Carthage (79-60), securing them a conference tournament title and improving their record to 22-5. The Titans accumulated 382 points in this week's poll.

The College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin is represented by two programs in the top-25 rankings, with Carthage holding the twenty-fifth spot.

Looking ahead, Illinois Wesleyan will travel to Chicago for NCAA regional competition at the Ratner Athletic Center on March 7-8. They are set to face Bethany Lutheran College on Friday at 4 p.m., while St. John's University (Minn.) will compete against the University of Chicago later that evening at 6:30 p.m. The winners from these matchups will advance to play in the regional championship scheduled for Saturday at 6:30 p.m.