FAIRFIELD, Ala.--Miles' win over Clark Atlanta last Thursday not only put it in position to win the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Western Division crown, it kept the Golden Bears moving towards a possible spot in the Division II playoffs.
The Golden Bears are ranked eighth in this week's NCAA Division II Super Region 2 rankings, released Monday afternoon. That is up one spot from last week, a position previously held by Albany State, which dropped out the rankings after a loss to Benedict. This leaves Miles as the only SIAC team among the top-10 in the region.
The top seven teams in the final ranking will earn a spot in the Division II playoffs. But if Miles does not finish in the top seven, it could still make its way into the playoffs via a provision called 'earned access' – which assures a conference with a team ranked in the final top 10 of region ranking poll to receive one of the spots in the championship field from that given region. Wins in the next two weeks would give the Golden Bears a conference title and, almost assuredly, a spot in the playoffs.
Miles has not qualified for the Division II playoffs since 2012. They will try to do it again but will first have to beat Tuskegee, which it will play Saturday at 1 p.m.