INDIANAPOLIS – West Alabama men's basketball improved one place to fifth in the third week of the NCAA Division II South Region rankings on Wednesday.

The Tigers improved in the standings by claiming their first Gulf South Conference Tournament victory since 1997 with a 75-63 win over Delta State on Tuesday, amassing the most single season wins since the 1970-71 season.

All three regular season GSC Co-Champions remain in the 10 region rankings for the third consecutive week. Along with West Alabama, Alabama Huntsville ranked fourth in the poll with a 20-8 record, while the Tigers next opponent West Georgia improved to third at 18-7.

The No. 1 team in the nation, Florida Southern out of the Sunshine State Conference, leads the south region rankings with an overall record of 26-1, followed by fellow SSC school Barry, who ranks 14 in the nation.

Union earned the sixth spot as the Bulldogs also advanced to the GSC Semifinals with an upset victory over Shorter on Tuesday. Union will face UAH next in the next round of the conference tournament. Shorter rounds out the list of GSC teams making the region poll, placing ninth.

Lynn and Tampa, also from the SSC, were voted seventh and eighth respectively, while Southern Intercollegiate Conference school, Paine worked its way back into the rankings in 10^th place.

The NCAA South Region rankings are used at the end of the regular season to determine seeding in the national tournament.

The top eight in the regional rankings make the NCAA tournament, though it is possible for less to qualify if an automatic berth is won by a team outside of the top eight. The automatic berths are granted to the champions of the three conference tournaments in the South Region – the GSC, the SSC, and the SIAC.

West Alabama will take on West Georgia in the GSC Tournament Semifinal round on Friday. A win will send the Tigers to its fourth ever conference title game to face the winner of UAH and Union on Saturday. Friday's semifinal game is set for 7:30 p.m. at the Pete Hanna Center on the campus of Samford University.

The game can be heard on ESPN 104.9 WSLY and live stats and video will be available. Tickets for the Semifinals and Finals can be purchased in-person at the Pete Hanna Center Ticket Office or online at by visiting www.gscsports.org/tickets. General admission tickets are $10 for Adults, $3 for Students (valid ID required) and Free for Children 5 years and younger. Please note that only Adult tickets are available for online purchase.

Complete tournament information can be found by clicking HERE. Fans can also follow the Tournament via social media by using GSCMBB and GSCWBB.