The North Central Missouri College Lady Pirates continue to be a Top-10 national program in National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division Two, moving up a spot to #8 in Monday afternoon’s latest rankings from the national office in Charlotte, North Carolina, while the Pirate men hold steady at the #16 position.
The Lady Pirates, with a Tuesday night win against the Missouri Valley JV, are now 17-4 on the season, heading into a Wednesday night trip to Lincoln, Nebraska to play the Southeast CC Bobcats at 5:30. The Pirate men, with a Monday night blowout of the Missouri Valley JV, are 16-4, with a 7:30 game tonight against Southeast on the Bobcats Lincoln campus.
The next broadcast of Pirates basketball on KGOZ FM 101.7 will be this Saturday (February 3rd), as the Lady Pirates and Pirates host Metropolitan Community College in Region XVI action at the Ketcham Community Center in Trenton, with tip-times of 2 PM (women) and 4 PM (men). Two weeks ago, NCMC won in convincing fashion on the Wolves home floor in Kansas City.
One of four teams to give the Pirate men a loss this season, 17-0 National Park College (AR), is ranked #1 in this week’s poll, with another team to give NCMC a setback, Des Moines Area CC (Boone, IA), ranked third. Ellsworth Community College (IA) is 7th, while regional rival Johnson County CC (KS) checks in at #15.
The Johnson County Community College women, twice winners over NCMC this season, are a perfect 20-0 and ranked #1 in the country. Iowa Western Community College is 19-1 and ranked #2. The most impressive victory of the season for the Lady Pirates continues to be a 58-51 triumph over Iowa Western on November 11th at the Ketcham Community Center, as that is the Rievers only setback of the season.
Defending national champion CCBC Essex is ranked fifth, with Des Moines Area CC 19th. There are only four unbeaten teams in the country, with 20-0 Johnson County joined by 3rd ranked 23-0 Rock Valley College, 13th ranked 18-0 Mid Michigan College, and 15-0 16th ranked Cape Fear Community College.
