Eagles hold steady in fifth in final region rankings

INDIANAPOLIS - Carson-Newman's men's basketball program remained in fifth place in the final region ranking, released Wednesday afternoon by the NCAA.

The Eagles are one of three South Atlantic Conference institutions that appear in the rankings, which will help decide who moves on to the NCAA tournament in March. 

The top eight schools in the rankings remained virtually unchanged. 

Fellow South Atlantic Conference institutions Lincoln Memorial and Queens occupy the top two sports. Clayton State leapfrogged Carson-Newman and UNC Pembroke two weeks ago after beating the Braves and sits in third with the Braves in fourth

Carson-Newman has been regionally ranked in six consecutive polls now.  The Eagles were either ninth or 10th in last year's rankings, and were the first team out for last year's Southeast Region tournament. 

The Eagles are looking for their third NCAA tournament appearance under Chuck Benson and their first since the 2014-15 season. 

The Southeast region is comprised of the SAC, Peach Belt and Conference Carolinas. The three tournament champions of those leagues and  checks in in ninth, up a spot from last week.

Conference Carolinas locks in three of the final four spots in the poll.  King, whom Carson-Newman beat in overtime 92-91 in November, and Lees-McRae, flip-flopped positions from a week ago and sit in seventh, and eighth, respectively.  Barton appears in the region rankings for the first time all year and is 10th.  

The NCAA Tournament begins March 10 with the start of the Southeast Regional. The NCAA Division II Elite Eight is being hosted in Sioux Falls, S.D. for the second year in a row. That event begins with the national quarterfinals on March 20 and ends when a national champion is crowned on March 24.