Whippy, Diarra ranked in national stats; Chaminade, BYU-Hawaii, Dixie St remain in region poll

INDIANAPOLIS, IN – Three Pacific West Conference men’s basketball teams reside in the latest NCAA Division II Men’s Basketball West Region Poll.

BYU-Hawaii, Dixie State and Chaminade all earned places in the latest ranking.

Dixie State (12-5/12-4 In-Region) jumped from sixth to fourth in the region this week, while BYU-Hawaii (12-4/10-4) slipped back to eighth from seventh. Chaminade (12-5/12-4) moved from eighth to fifth.

The Division II men’s basketball committee in Indianapolis released the rankings on Wednesday, Feb. 16.

The Top 10 teams are listed for each of the eight regions. The regional rankings will be released weekly on Wednesdays through March 2 leading up to the 64-team NCAA II selection show on March 6.

BYU-Hawaii senior guard Marques Whippy (Bua, Fiji/Woods Cross, UT)leads all NCAA Division II men’s basketball players in rebounding with a 12.4 per game average, while his 3.1 steals per contest ranks him second in the nation.

Chaminade junior center Mamadou Diarra (Bamako, Mali/Stoneridge Prep) is ranked seventh in the nation in blocked shots per game (3.2). Senior teammate Shane Hanson (Canyon Lake, CA/Temescal Canyon) is ranked fifth in three-point shooting at 47.2% (58 for 123).

Grand Canyon's Kyle Speed (Seattle, WA/Lake Washington) is ranked fourth in assist/turnover ratio (3.38).