INDIANAPOLIS --- The Tusculum University men's basketball team is ranked 10th in the initial NCAA Division II Southeast Region rankings, which were released earlier this week.
The Pioneers entered the week with a 16-10 record against Division II opposition and all against teams in the Southeast Region which includes opponents from the South Atlantic Conference, Peach Belt Conference and Conference Carolinas.
Tusculum began the week with a 2-5 record against teams listed in this week's rankings with wins over USC Aiken (93-63) on Nov. 8 and Queens University of Charlotte (67-61) on Dec. 21.
Following the release of the rankings, the Pioneers knocked off arch-rival Carson-Newman 62-52 on Wednesday.
Lincoln Memorial is the top-ranked team in the region with a 23-1 overall record entering the week and 23-0 within the region. UNC Pembroke is second as the Pioneers dropped an 81-79 decision to the Braves in November. Queens is third as TU split the regular season series against the defending region champions. Catawba is fourth, followed by Augusta, Lander, King, USC Aiken, Southern Wesleyan and Tusculum.
The conference tournament champions of the SAC, Peach Belt and Conference Carolinas will receive automatic berths in the eight-team Southeast Regional, which will begin March 13. Five at-large bids will be handed out to complete the field, which will be unveiled on Monday, March 9.
The regional advisory committee will evaluate teams in the region each of the next two weeks, with the national committee releasing updated rankings on Wednesday, Feb. 26 and Wednesday, March 4 prior to the final selection of the bracket.
The Pioneers (17-10 overall, 12-7 SAC) host Coker this Saturday afternoon Pioneer Arena in their final home game of the regular season. A Tusculum win coupled with an Anderson University loss would guarantee a top-four finish in the SAC standings for a second straight season and a home game in the quarterfinal round of the SAC Tournament on March 4.
