INDIANAPOLIS --- The Tusculum women's basketball team is ranked 10th in the initial NCAA Division II Southeast Region rankings, which were released Wednesday.
The Pioneers (15-6) are 1-2 against teams in the Southeast Region rankings, owning a 74-51 win over seventh-ranked Anderson on Jan. 17 and losses to second-ranked Wingate on Dec. 16 and top-ranked Carson-Newman on Jan. 10.
Carson-Newman (23-1) is followed by Wingate (19-3), North Georgia (21-3) and Lander (18-5) at the top of the rankings, with Barton (18-5) in fifth. Limestone (19-4) is sixth, with Anderson (16-8), Flagler (13-7), Georgia College (15-8) and Tusculum rounding out the top 10.
The tournament champions of the South Atlantic Conference, Conference Carolinas and Peach Belt Conference will receive automatic bids to the NCAA Division II Southeast Region tournament, with five at-large bids available for the eight-team field. Currently, four SAC schools (Carson-Newman, Wingate, Anderson, Tusculum) are in the regional top 10, along with four Peach Belt Conference teams (North Georgia, Lander, Flagler, Georgia College) and a pair of Conference Carolinas schools (Barton, Limestone).
The NCAA regional rankings are the official poll utilized by the NCAA in the championship selection process and will be released each week by the NCAA Division II Women's Basketball Committee up to the NCAA Championship selections.
Tusculum has five games left on its schedule, including three games against teams in the Southeast Region rankings: at Carson-Newman on Wednesday, Feb. 14, home with Wingate on Monday, Feb. 19 and at Anderson on Wednesday, Feb. 21.