INDIANAPOLIS – Carson-Newman has been listed among eight teams up for consideration for one of six slots in the upcoming NCAA Men's Basketball Championships for a second straight week. The NCAA released the latest batch of region rankings Wednesday.
Normally the region rankings are truly rankings. However, this year the NCAA changed the format to schools under consideration for the first two "rankings" before unveiling the final batch on March 3rd. Schools will be listed in alphabetical order for the first two releases.
According to the NCAA releases, this is "due to the disparity of games played this season and the limited data available."
The initial batch of rankings, which only includes games through Sunday, features five SAC teams, two Conference Carolinas teams and one SIAC school. Carson-Newman, Lincoln Memorial, Queens, Tusculum and Newberry represent the SAC, while Belmont Abbey and Emmanuel hail from Conference Carolinas. Benedict, whom Carson-Newman beat by 16, is the lone SIAC school.
At eight straight games, C-N owns the longest active win streak in the region.
The official NCAA selection show is scheduled for March 7 at 10 p.m. where the field and seeds will be announced on NCAA.com.
This year's field has been condensed to 48 teams and the region is adjusted to accommodate equal participation numbers across the eight regions meaning the Peach Belt will participate in the South and the Southeast region is adding the SIAC.
| Southeast (Under consideration) | ||||
| Belmont Abbey | 14-4 | 14-4 | ||
| Benedict | 5-1 | 5-1 | ||
| Carson-Newman | 13-5 | 13-5 | ||
| Emmanuel (Georgia) | 12-3 | 12-3 | ||
| Lincoln Memorial | 15-3 | 15-3 | ||
| Newberry | 8-4 | 8-4 | ||
| Queens (North Carolina) | 12-3 | 12-3 | ||
| Tusculum | 11-4 | 11-4 |
