INDIANAPOLIS – In the first edition of the NCAA's region rankings, Carson-Newman was placed fifth announced by the organization Wednesday with four contests remaining in the 2019-20 regular season.
The selection committee uses these rankings as a guideline to make up the NCAA Tournament field. The top eight teams in the region make the NCAA Tournament with three automatic bids going to the winners of the conference tournaments from the South Atlantic Conference, Conference Carolinas and the Peach Belt Conference.
For the No. 1 team in the region, that school gets to host the Southeast Region tournament over the second weekend of March with three wins needed to advance to the National Quarterfinals in Birmingham, Ala. at the Birmingham Crossplex from March 24-27.
The Lady Eagles boast on of the best resumes in the region playing the second toughest schedule in the region to date at .547 holding a 3-4 record against other regionally-ranked foes. C-N is 13-2 since Dec. 14 with a double overtime loss to Anderson and a five-point setback to Tusculum in that mix.
"We want to make sure that we host a first-round SAC game," Carson-Newman coach Mike Mincey said. "Last year we were prematurely put out and did not get a chance to defend our title at Furman. That is our first concern. We have a tough schedule and if we didn't give up at home we could be higher but sitting in fifth you feel like that's a safe zone. You can get out of that safe zone if you don't keep winning."
Lander, a team that C-N beat in the second game of the year, checks in at No. 1 in the first release thanks to playing the toughest schedule in the region at .577. Behind the Bearcats are the reigning region champions, North Georgia, tallying a 20-3 overall record.
Despite playing one of the easier schedules in the region at .472, Belmont Abbey gets the nod at No. 3 in the region coasting through Conference Carolinas play.
The middle four teams in the rankings are from the SAC led by fourth-seeded Anderson, who holds a one-game lead in the regular-season standings.
Catawba and Tusculum are directly behind Carson-Newman for the sixth and seventh slots. Barton would be the final qualifier at No. 8 with Columbus State and Limestone firmly on the bubble in the final two slots.
The Lady Eagles get a chance to pad their resume Wednesday night at 5:30 p.m. at Tusculum. Broadcast coverage can be found on 106.3 (WPFT-FM, Sevierville) and cneagles.com/live starting at 5:15.
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