INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. --- Tusculum University has earned the fourth seed for the NCAA Division II Women's Basketball Tournament Southeast Regional, the NCAA announced Sunday night.
Tusculum will play fifth-seeded Tuskegee (12-1) in a first-round game Friday at Holt Fieldhouse on the campus of Carson-Newman University in Jefferson City, Tennessee. The winner of the first-ever meeting between the Pioneers and the Golden Tigers will face top-seeded Belmont Abbey (22-2) in the semifinals on Saturday. The Crusaders defeated Barton 68-62 in overtime to claim the automatic bid out of Conference Carolinas.
The Pioneers (18-3) received a second consecutive automatic bid to the tournament by winning the Pilot/Flying J South Atlantic Conference Championship on Sunday with a 59-47 win over Lincoln Memorial University. Tusculum earned its seventh NCAA Tournament selection since joining Division II in 1999, and will be playing its first tournament game since 2012 after last year's championship was canceled due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Tournament action will begin on Friday, March 12 with two first-round games, followed by two semifinal games on Saturday, March 13. The Southeast Region championship will be played Monday, March 15, with the winner advancing to the Elite Eight, which will be held March 23-26 in Columbus, Ohio.
The other first-round game on Friday will pit third-seeded host Carson-Newman (15-3) against fellow SAC member and sixth seed Catawba (10-3), with the winner facing second-seeded Barton (12-2) in the other semifinal on Saturday.
The Pioneers are 4-4 in their five previous trips to the NCAA Southeast Regional.
Visit tusculumpioneers.com for up-to-date information on the Southeast Regional, including game times.
NCAA Division II Women's Basketball Tournament
Southeast Regional at Jefferson City, Tennessee
Friday, March 12 - First Round
#3 Carson-Newman (15-3) vs. #6 Catawba (10-3), 6 pm
#4 Tusculum (18-3) vs. #5 Tuskegee (12-1), 8:45 pm
Saturday, March 13 - Semifinals
Carson-Newman/Catawba winner vs. #2 Barton (12-2), 6 pm
Tusculum/Tuskegee winner vs. #1 Belmont Abbey (22-2), 8:45 pm
Monday, March 15 - Finals
Semifinal winners, 6 pm
