KATY, Texas – Southeastern Louisiana returns to the Southland Conference Men's Basketball Tournament for the fourth-straight season, facing the No. 8 seed University of New Orleans on ESPN3 at 5 p.m. Wednesday in the Merrell Center.
The Southeastern Sports Radio Network broadcast, with Lance Pittman on the call, can be heard in the Hammond area on KSLU 90.9 FM, online at www.LionSports.net or via the TuneIn Radio app. Fans can also follow live statistics. Links for audio, video and stats are available on both the front page and basketball schedule page at www.LionSports.net.
In addition to coverage on ESPN3, WatchESPN.com and the WatchESPN app, Wednesday's first round men's games will air on ESPN College Extra. The service is available on DirecTV (788), Verizon Fios (321) and AT&T Uverse (614).
The Lions (11-20, 9-9 Southland) are the No. 5 seed and will face UNO (10-19, 6-12 Southland) in the tournament's opening contest. The matchup marks the third meeting between the two schools in the last 15 days. Southeastern defeated the Privateers, 93-81, Feb. 24 in Hammond, Louisiana, and, 61-60, in New Orleans Louisiana, on March 3 to complete the sweep of the regular-season series.
UNO won its regular-season finale, 97-86, against Northwestern State to clinch the league's final postseason bid. It is the second all-time tournament appearance for UNO. The Lions are in the tournament for the 12th time, all in the last 13 years.
Southeastern, which fell, 64-45, at Nicholls this past Saturday, enters the tournament having won eight of its last 11 contests.
All-Conference guard
Zay Jackson, a native of Hammond, leads Southeastern in scoring this season with an average of 12.9 points per game and ranks third in the Southland with 5.0 assists per game.
Jordan Capps (9.5 ppg, 6.0 Rebounds per game),
JaMichael Hawkins (8.7 ppg) and
Joshua Filmore (8.5 ppg) round out the Lions' top scorers.
Southeastern is shooting 45.4 percent (771-of-1,711) from the floor this season, ranking third in the Southland. The Lions have hit 36.3 percent (217-of-597) from 3-point range, are 421-of-665 (63.3 percent) from the free throw line and have been out-rebounded by opponents, on average, 35.9-to-34.5 per game.
Christavious Gill (14.7 ppg), Erik Thomas (12.0 ppg, 6.9 rpg) and Kevin Hill (9.9 ppg, 6.0 rpg) lead the Privateers.
UNO is shooting 41.9 percent (739-of-1,764) from the floor this season, including 33.6 percent (151-of-450) from 3-point range. The Privateers have hit 546-of-793 (68.5 percent) from the free throw line and have out-rebounded opponents, on average, 38.1-to-37.0 per game.
Stephen F. Austin will be the top seed in the 2016 Southland Conference Men's Basketball Tournament. In the SFA half of the bracket are No. 4 seed Houston Baptist, Southeastern and UNO.
The Lumberjacks went a perfect 18-0 in conference play for the second time in three years to win their fourth consecutive conference title and sixth overall. SFA enters the tournament on an 18-game winning streak, the longest in the nation. The Lumberjacks receive a double-bye into the semifinals on Friday at 5 p.m., CT, on ESPN3 against an opponent to be determined in the first two rounds.
The winner of the Southeastern-UNO game will play No. 4 seed Houston Baptist Thursday at 5 p.m. The Huskies are in their first Southland tournament after finishing the year 16-15 overall and 10-8 in conference.
On the other side of the bracket, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi locked up the No. 2 seed after finishing 15-3 in league play and 24-6 overall in the regular season. The Islanders return to the tournament for the third straight year and for the sixth time overall. The Islanders have won their last six games, and eight of their last nine, including the regular-season finale with a 74-69 win over Abilene Christian. A&M-Corpus Christi, like SFA, has a double bye into semifinals and will play its first game Friday at7:30 p.m. on ESPN3.
The first game on the Islanders' side of the bracket pits No. 6 seed McNeese State and No. 7 seed Nicholls. McNeese, which is in the tournament for the league-best 29th time, has won its last three games and finished the regular season 9-19 overall and 7-11 in league play. The Colonels, who are 10-22 overall and 6-12 in conference, reeled off three consecutive wins to conclude the regular season to clinch a spot in Katy. The game between McNeese and Nicholls is set for Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.
No. 3 seed Sam Houston State awaits the winner of the McNeese-Nicholls game for a second-round game Thursday at 7:30 p.m.The Bearkats, who finished the regular season 17-14 overall and 12-6 in conference, are in the tournament for the 19th time and for the 13th consecutive year. The Bearkats reached the championship game the last two seasons.
For the first time, all rounds of the men's tournament will be televised. The first and second rounds along with the semifinals will be available solely on ESPN3, while the championship game will be covered exclusively ESPN2 and WatchESPN.
The winner of the tournament will receive the Southland's automatic bid into the NCAA tournament. The selection show is Sunday, March 13 at 4:30 p.m., CT, on CBS.
Tickets to the 2016 Southland Conference Basketball Tournament are available at the Southeastern Louisiana Athletics Ticket Office through close of business Tuesday and at the Merrell Center box office beginning Wednesday at 4 p.m.
General admission tickets for the first three rounds are $15 apiece. Tickets to each men's and women's championship games are $10 for general admission.
For more information, contact the ticket office at (985) 549-5466 or 1-866-LION-TIX. Ticket office hours are 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 8 a.m.-12:30 p.m. on Fridays. The ticket office is located in Room 107 of the Dugas Center for Southeastern Athletics.
This is the ninth consecutive year for the event to be played in Katy. For complete information about the tournament, visit www.Southland.org/katy.
Wednesday, March 9Game 1: No. 8 New Orleans vs. No. 5 Southeastern Louisiana, 5 p.m. (ESPN3)
Game 2: No. 7 Nicholls vs. No. 6 McNeese State, 7:30 p.m. (ESPN3)
Thursday, March 10Game 3: Winner Game 1 vs. No. 4 Houston Baptist, 5 p.m. (ESPN3)
Game 4: Winner Game 2 vs. No. 3 Sam Houston State, 7:30 p.m. (ESPN3)
Friday, March 11Game 5: Winner Game 3 vs. No. 1 Stephen F. Austin, 5 p.m. (ESPN3)
Game 6: Winner Game 4 vs. No. 2 Texas A&M-Corpus Christ, 7:30 p.m. (ESPN3)
Saturday, March 12Championship Game, 8:30 p.m. (ESPN2)
