INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. --- The Tusculum University women's basketball team moved up one position to sixth in the second edition of the 2019-20 NCAA Division II Southeast Region rankings, through games of Sunday, Feb. 23.
The Pioneers defeated regional fifth-ranked Carson-Newman 79-74 and beat Coker 75-66 in last week's action, jumping over the Eagles who fell to seventh in the rankings with a 19-7 record against in-region opponnets.
The top three teams are unchanged in this week's rankings, with Lander (22-4), North Georgia (22-3) and Belmont Abbey (25-2) holding down the top three positions. Catawba (21-4) moved up two spots to fourth, followed by Anderson (22-4) in fifth and Tusculum (19-6 in-region) in sixth.
Carson-Newman dropped two spots to seventh, with Clayton State (17-8 in-region) entering the rankings in eighth. The Pioneers own a head-to-head win over the Lakers, winning 93-62 at Pioneer Arena on Nov. 12. Barton (21-5) and Columbus State (17-7) each dropped one spot in this week's rankings to ninth and tenth, respectively.
With the entry of Clayton State, Tusculum now has a 4-5 record against teams in this week's regional rankings. The Pioneers have wins over Belmont Abbey (55-46 on Nov. 8), Clayton State, and two over Carson-Newman including a 71-66 road win on Jan. 15.
The conference tournament champions of the South Atlantic Conference, Peach Belt Conference 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 Sunday, March 8.
The regional advisory committee will continue to evaluate teams in the region, with the national committee releasing the final rankings update on Wednesday, March 4 prior to the announcement of the bracket.
The Pioneers (21-6 overall, 16-5 SAC), who beat Lincoln Memorial 67-48 on Wednesday night on the road, close the regular season at Wingate on Saturday at 2 p.m. Tusculum will host a SAC Championship quarterfinal game against an opponent to be determined on Wednesday, March 4 at Pioneer Arena.
NCAA Division II Women's Basketball Southeast Region Rankings (Through games of Feb. 23) Rk School DII W-L In-Region 1. Lander 22-4 22-4 2. North Georgia 22-3 22-3 3. Belmont Abbey 25-2 25-2 4. Catawba 21-4 21-4 5. Anderson 22-4 22-4 6. TUSCULUM 19-6 19-6 7. Carson-Newman 19-7 19-7 8. Clayton State 17-8 17-8 9. Barton 21-5 21-5 10 Columbus State 17-7 17-7
