Men's Post-Season Tournament
3/4/2012 10:08:00 AM | Men's Basketball
The Sam Houston State men's basketball team will make its 10th consecutive appearance in the Southland Conference post-season tournament when the Bearkats take on the Lumberjacks of SFA at 12 noon Wednesday.
Stephen F. Austin is in the tournament for the 16th time overall and for the seventh consecutive season. The Lumberjacks, who won the tournament in 2009, are the No. 2 seed in this year's tournament and are 19-11 overall and 12-4 in league play to finish second in the West Division.
The Bearkats got past Texas State 63-61 in San Marcos in a must-win game to make their 15th Southland tournament appearance and their 10th in a row. Sam Houston, which won the tournament in 2010, is 13-18 overall and finished 7-9 in league play. Stephen F. Austin won both games against the Bearkats this season, picking up a 67-66 overtime win Jan. 25 in Nacogdoches and a 58-47 victory Feb. 29 in Huntsville.
UT Arlington enters the 2012 Southland Conference Basketball Tournament next week at the Leonard E. Merrell Center as the No. 1 seed after winning its second conference regular-season championship and its first outright title.
The 23-7 Mavericks were trying to finish with a perfect league record Saturday, but lost at UTSA 97-88. They would have been the league's first team to finish undefeated in conference play since 1973-74. No Southland team has been perfect in a 16-game league schedule, but the Mavericks' 15-1 mark is the Southland's best record since Northwestern State had the same conference mark in 2005-06.
The loss to UTSA was just the second defeat for UT Arlington since Dec. 21, a span that included 21 games and a 16-game win streak. The Mavericks, who are making their record 26th appearance in the Southland tournament after missing the event last year, also was the tournament's top seed in 2004 and won its only tournament title in 2008. UTA will open the tournament Wednesday at 6 p.m. against No. 8 seed Nicholls State. The Colonels are in the tournament for the fourth consecutive season and for the 12th time overall. Nicholls is 10-19 overall and was 6-10 in league games. UTA beat Nicholls State, 85-55 Jan. 7 in Arlington.
The second game Wednesday pits No. 3 seed Lamar and No. 6 seed Northwestern State at 2:30 p.m. Lamar is back in the tournament for the first time since 2008 after beating McNeese State 78-68 to win the East Division with an 11-5 record.
No. 4 seed McNeese State and No. 5 seed UTSA meet in the final game Wednesday at 8:30 p.m. McNeese, which finished 15-14 overall and 10-6 in conference play though dropped its final three games, a stretch that was preceded by an eight-game win streak.
The Cowboys are making their 25th overall tournament appearance and their second in a row. McNeese, the 2011 regular-season champion, will face UTSA, which won last year's tournament.
The men's semifinal games will be Thursday at 6:05 p.m. and 8:33 p.m. Those games will be televised by the Southland Conference Television Network and will also be available on SLC NOW, ESPN Full Court and ESPN3.com.
For a complete list of Southland TV Network affiliates, visit www.southland.org/television. The championship game will be played Saturday at 2:05 p.m. and will be televised by ESPN2 and on ESPN3.com. The first six games will also be streamed live and for free on SLC NOW at Southland.org.
2012 Southland Conference Men's Basketball Tournament
Leonard E. Merrell Center, Katy, Texas; March 7-10, 2012
Wednesday, March 7 - Quarterfinals
Game 1: No. 7 Sam Houston State vs. No. 2 Stephen F. Austin, Noon
Game 2: No. 6 Northwestern State vs. No. 3 Lamar, 2:30 p.m.
Game 3: No. 8 Nicholls State vs. No. 1 UT Arlington, 6 p.m.
Game 4: No. 5 UTSA vs. No. 4 McNeese State, 8:30 p.m.
Thursday, March 8 - Semifinals
Game 5: Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2, 6:05 p.m. (Southland TV)
Game 6: Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 4, 8:33 p.m. (Southland TV)
Saturday, March 10 - Championship
Game 7: Winner Game 5 vs. Winner Game 6, 2:05 p.m. (ESPN2)
