INDIANAPOLIS – The NCAA has released its first NCAA Division II South Region rankings for the 2014 season with the West Alabama men's basketball receiving the fifth spot among the top 10 teams in the region.

The Tigers are 15-8 overall and 14-8 in the region, making their first regional ranking since 1994. The rankings are used at the end of the regular season to determine seeding in the national tournament.

"It is a great honor to make it into the rankings," said UWA first year head coach Mark Downey. "We still have a lot of work to do.  Rankings at this time of the year do not mean much; we just want to be ranked at the end of the year."

Florida Southern, the eighth ranked team in the country, sits atop the region rankings. Gulf South Conference opponent No. 19 Delta State sits second followed by Saint Leo and Barry. The Tigers are trailed by Tuskegee, Fort Valley State and Tampa.

Fellow GSC teams North Alabama and Christian Brothers round out the list in ninth and 10^th place respectively. 

With three regular season games remaining, UWA will take on North Alabama on Feb. 27 in Pruitt Hall at 7:30 p.m.  

The top eight in the regional rankings make the NCAA tournament, though it is possible for less to qualify if an automatic berth is won by a team outside of the top eight. The automatic berths are granted to the champions of the three conference tournaments in the South Region – the GSC, the Sunshine State Conference, and the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.

West Alabama will return to action Thursday as it travels to take on Lee on at 7 p.m. (CST) in Cleveland, Tenn.