INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. --- Tusculum University is ranked fifth in the initial NCAA Division II Women's Basketball Southeast Region rankings, the NCAA announced Wednesday afternoon.

The teams were placed into rank order for the first time this week after being listed as under consideration for the first two weeks of the process. This week's rankings were through games of Sunday, Feb. 28 and do not include conference tournament games played on Monday.

Belmont Abbey (18-2) is the top-ranked team in the region, followed by fellow Conference Carolinas member Barton (10-1) and South Atlantic Conference regular-season champion Carson-Newman (15-2) in third. Tuskegee, out of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, is fourth at 12-1 with the Pioneers in fifth at 15-3. Catawba (9-2) is sixth, with Emmanuel (13-3) and UVA Wise (15-4) ranked seventh and eighth, respectively.

The SIAC is normally a member of the South Region, but swapped regions with the Peach Belt Conference in an effort to equalize the regions based on number of schools participating in the 2020-21 campaign.

The rankings are the official poll utilized by the NCAA in the championship selection process and will continue to be released each week by the NCAA Division II Women's Basketball Committee up to the NCAA Championship selections. The 2021 NCAA Division II Women's Basketball Southeast Region Championship will be held at Carson-Newman March 12-15.

The six-team regional field will be finalized following the conclusion of play on Sunday, March 7 with the announcement Sunday night at 10 p.m. on ncaa.com.

Tusculum is the number-two seed in the Pilot/Flying J SAC Women's Basketball Championship and hosts third-seeded Catawba in a semifinal matchup on Thursday at 5:30 p.m. at Pioneer Arena.

NCAA Division II Women's Basketball
Southeast Region Rankings
through games of Feb. 28, 2021