NJCAA Division 1 Men’s Basketball Week 13 Poll | NJCAA Division 2 Men’s Basketball Week 13 Poll

CHARLOTTE, NC – Following two straight weeks of little change for Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference schools in the NJCAA Men’s Basketball rankings, the week 13 polls have once again shuffled teams from the Sunflower State around as two new teams have entered the rankings to give the conference four ranked teams and a fifth receiving votes in the latest renditions of the NJCAA Division 1 and Division 2 Men’s Basketball top 25 polls.

Outside of number three Johnson County in the NJCAA Division 2 top 25 poll, there was plenty of change featuring KJCCC schools for the ranked teams in the Division 1 poll, as each game becomes increasingly more important down the final stretch of the season. The Cavaliers grinded out a 61-57 road win at Kansas City Kansas, before going to Labette and earning a 10-point victory to improve to 26-0 overall and 9-0 in the KJCCC Division 2 standings, as JCCC will have a chance to clinch the regular season title in their next conference game.  

Things have become no less clear among the KJCCC Division 1 schools with teams having four or five games to play in the regular season, as Butler moved up one spot to number 16 following a five-point road win at Independence and a one-point win over Seward County, as the Grizzlies have seen their last three wins in conference play come by a total of eight points. Trending up at the right time with six-straight wins, Barton is back into the rankings and holds the number 20 ranking this week after earning wins over Fort Hays Tech Northwest and Garden City last week to set up key matchups this week with Butler and Independence. Also back into the rankings is Coffeyville, which has won four straight following victories over Cloud County and at Colby last week to be ranked number 23 this week, while Dodge City is receiving votes after splitting their games at Hutchinson and against Pratt last week.

With just two games in the standings separating the second-place team in the KJCCC D1 standings from the eighth-place team, games this week will be as important as any this season for teams when nine games take place on Wednesday evening. Included in the night’s action will be a top 25 matchup between Barton and Butler, along with Johnson County looking to secure a KJCCC regular season title when they host Fort Scott. Saturday gets no easier for ranked teams as Butler travels to Arkansas City to take on Cowley, while Barton will host Independence in games between teams that are in the top half of the KJCCC D1 standings and battling for a potential first-round bye in the conference tournament. Other games of note on Saturday will see Johnson County host Neosho County, and Dodge City travel to Garden City in games that will have postseason seeding and potential host implications.