INDIANAPOLIS- In the final batch of the NCAA's region rankings before Selection Sunday, Carson-Newman moves up one spot to number five in the Southeast Region as announced by the NCAA on Wednesday evening.
Carson-Newman is one of four South Atlantic Conference schools in the region rankings. Coker is the highest rated SAC school in second. Anderson and Wingate are below C-N, but each moved up one spot to seven and eight.
The Peach Belt has the top rated team in the region, North Georgia. The Nighthawks are 25-2 this season. The only other PBC school is Columbus State, who checks in at fourth with a 19-7 mark.
Similar to the SAC, Conference Carolinas has four schools in the top ten of the rankings. The highest ranked CC school is Francis Marion at 20-5 overall this season in third. UNC Pembroke is one spot behind C-N in sixth, while Chowan and Belmont Abbey round out the top ten at nine and ten.
Among the teams ranked in the top ten, C-N has played seven games against those teams and is 4-3.
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. The other five spots will consist of at-large bids.
For the No. 1 team in the region, that school gets to host the Southeast Region tournament from March 14-17. Three wins are needed to advance to the National Quarterfinals which will be played March 24-28 in Pittsburgh, PA at UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse.
The DII women's basketball selection show is set for Sunday, March 9th at 10:30 PM ET.
The Lady Eagles defeated Lincoln Memorial in the quarterfinal round of the SAC Tournament yesterday and await the winner of Anderson and Mars Hill. Coverage on Thursday with the Eagle Sports Network begins at 7:15 with the AEC Countdown to Tipoff on MIX 105.5 (WSEV-FM, Sevierville) and online at cneagles.com/live.
