INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – Augusta University men's basketball appears in the first NCAA Division II Southeast Regional ranking, which was released Wednesday night. There will be two more published regional rankings before the national tournament field is released on March 5.

Augusta holds a 19-5 overall record against Division II competition. Of all Southeast Region teams, Augusta is the top ranked for strength of schedule RPI.
 
Within the region, the Jaguars are 18-5. With Jaguars looking to reclaim the Peach Belt Conference title, the next three games are critical after last night's loss to USC Aiken.

There are five teams, including Augusta, ranked from the Peach Belt Conference. Lander (16-7), North Georgia (18-4), USC Aiken (16-7), and Young Harris (18-5) are in the alphabetical listing. 

Other teams listed are: Catawba (17-6), Lincoln Memorial (23-2), Newberry (16-8), UNC Pembroke (24-1) and Wingate University (14-9).

Augusta's Division II strength of schedule is .563 and its rating percentage index (RPI) is .631.

The national tournament selection criteria are based on in-region winning percentage, D2 winning percentage, D2 strength of schedule, D2 head-to-head competition, and results vs. common D2 opposition.

The NCAA regional rankings are the official rankings used by the committee to select the national tournament field. The field will be comprised of 64 teams and the Southeast Region will have eight teams. The three conference tournament champions (PBC, SAC, and Conference Carolinas) receive an automatic berth to the regional.

Augusta travels to Flagler on Saturday Feb 18.
 
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