Indianapolis, Ind. – The Dowling College
men's basketball team was the only East Coast Conference ranked in
the first edition of the NCAA Division II Men's Basketball East
Region poll, released on Wednesday afternoon. Dowling, who
currently sits atop the ECC standings, comes in at No. 5.
The Golden Lions are having their most successful season in years,
currently boasting a 21-4 (15-2 ECC) record. Dowling has posted its
first 20 win season since the 1997-98 campaign. The Golden Lions
are also looking to end a drought of 15 years without a NCAA
Tournament appearance as well.
The Northeast 10 Conference had the most schools listed in the
poll with six (including the top four), while the Central Atlantic
Collegiate Conference had three.
The regional rankings will be released weekly on Wednesdays
through March 5. The top eight teams (three conference tournament
champions and five at-large berths) in the poll after the
conference championships will earn bids to the Division II Men's
Basketball Tournament.
| School | Overall Record | In-Region Record |
| 1. Southern Connecticut St. | 21-2 | 21-2 |
| 2. Franklin Pierce | 17-5 | 17-5 |
| 3. St. Anselm | 16-6 | 16-6 |
| 4. New Haven | 17-7 | 17-7 |
| 5. Dowling | 21-4 | 21-4 |
| 6. St. Michael's | 17-6 | 17-6 |
| 7. Philadelphia | 20-5 | 20-5 |
| 8. Bentley | 16-8 | 16-8 |
| 9. Bloomfield | 16-7 | 16-5 |
| 10. Dominican | 15-7 | 14-6 |
