Five Men's Basketball Teams Under Consideration in First Round of Regional Rankings

ROCK HILL, S.C. (TheSAC.com) -- In the first edition of the NCAA's region rankings, the South Atlantic Conference had five men's basketball programs under consideration for the NCAA Tournament.

The rankings, which are listed alphabetically for the first week and then numerically for the subsequent announcements, have Carson-Newman, Catawba, Coker, Lenoir-Rhyne and Lincoln Memorial listed among the 10 teams. 

The selection committee uses these rankings as a guideline to make up the NCAA Tournament field. The top eight teams in the region make the NCAA Tournament with three automatic bids going to the winners of the conference tournaments from the South Atlantic Conference, Conference Carolinas and the Peach Belt Conference. The other five spots will consist of at-large bids.