JACKSON, Tennessee – The NCAA Region Committee’s released the final basketball regional rankings across the eight division II regions with the selection show set March 6.
According to Steven Aldridge, Union’s Assistant Director of Athletics for Sports Communication – Union University was listed in both the men’s and the women’s poll for the third straight week.
The Union women earned the No. 1 spot in this week’s poll, while the Union men are up one spot to No. 5 this week.
The region rankings have been released each Wednesday since mid-February with national tournament participants being announced as a part of the selection show, Sunday, March 6.
The women’s selection show will be at 9 p.m. (central) followed by the men’s selection show at 9:30 p.m. (central) on NCAA.com.
This ranking is the poll that determines the five at-large bids from the south region to the 2022 D2 National Championships.
Eight teams will advance to the national tournament from each region, playing first in the regional portion of the national tournament.
The conference tournament champion from each the Gulf South Conference, Sunshine State Conference, and Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference will earn automatic bids to the south region bracket of the national tournament.
The remaining five spots will be decided by the final region ranking, to be announced as a part of a selection show, late in the evening of March 6.
The women’s poll includes Union (1), Tampa (2), Eckerd (3), Valdosta State (4), Lee (5), Savannah State (6), Florida Southern (7), Benedict (8), Tuskegee (9), West Florida (10).
The Union women have advanced to the regional round of the national tournament six of the seven years it has been in the Gulf South Conference. Union has one region title in 2018, advancing to the Elite Eight round of the national tournament.
The men’s poll includes Nova Southeastern (1), Embry-Riddle (2), Miles (3), Barry (4), Union (5), West Alabama (6), Florida Southern (7), Tampa (8), Morehouse (9), Lee (10).
The Union men have been to the NCAA D2 National Tournament four times, two of those in the most recent NCAA membership stint in 2015 and 2016.
The previous trips came in 1967 and 1968. Union was runner-up to the eventual NCAA D2 national champion, Kentucky Wesleyan, in the 1968 region tournament title game.
