Regular-season champion Nicholls top seed for Southland Men’s Basketball Tournament

FRISCO, Texas – Following the last regular season games, the seeds and bracket for the 2021 Hercules Tires Southland Conference Basketball Tournament have been finalized. Postseason play for the expanded 10-team field begins Tuesday, March 9, at the Leonard E. Merrell Center in Katy, Texas.

Nicholls secured the No. 1 seed and its first regular-season conference title since 2018, topping the field with 42 points. Abilene Christian followed at the No. 2 seed with 40 points after posting the program’s third-straight 20-win season.

Tournament play begins Tuesday, March 9, at 5 p.m. CT with game one between No. 8-seed Southeastern Louisiana and No. 9-seeded McNeese. The Lions and Cowboys split their meetings with the road team taking each matchup. Game two will follow at 8 p.m. with No. 7 UIW against No. 10 Houston Baptist. The Huskies swept their two contests against the Cardinals this season.

Day two begins at 5 p.m. Wednesday, March 10, with the game-three matchup between No. 5 New Orleans and the winner of game one. Game four will begin at 8 p.m., featuring No. 6 pitted against the winner of game two in the fourth matchup of the tournament.

Third-round action tips off at 5 p.m. Thursday, March 11, with No. 4 Northwestern State versus the winner of game three, followed by game six between No. 3 Sam Houston and the winner of game four at 8 p.m.

Semifinal rounds will commence Friday, March 12, at 5 p.m. with No. 1 Nicholls taking on the winner of game five. No. 2-seeded Abilene Christian will face off against the winner of game six in an 8 p.m. tipoff. All preliminary rounds can be seen on ESPN+.

Saturday’s championship will tip off at 8:30 p.m. on ESPN2.

Tickets for next week’s tournament can be purchased via Ticketmaster and all Ticketmaster outlets. The Southland Tournament will offer a $20 ticket per day, and same day re-entry into the Merrell Center will require an additional ticket purchase.

Further, all seating will be general admission and distanced with no specified reserved areas for fans of participating teams. A reconfigured Merrell Center, with its normally-used telescopic seating sections unavailable to attendees this year, will be adjusted for a maximum capacity figure of 2,000 fans.

The tournament champion will receive the league’s automatic bid for the 2021 NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball tournament.

MEN’S SEEDS

No. 1 – Nicholls (17-6, 14-2 SLC)
No. 2 – Abilene Christian (21-4, 13-2 SLC)
No. 3 – Sam Houston (19-8, 13-3 SLC)
No. 4 – Northwestern State (10-17, 9-7 SLC)
No. 5 – New Orleans (9-14, 8-7 SLC)
No. 6 – Lamar (8-17, 6-10 SLC)
No. 7 – UIW (8-13, 5-9 SLC)
No. 8 – Southeastern Louisiana (7-17, 5-10 SLC)
No. 9 – McNeese (10-13, 4-10 SLC)
No. 10 – Houston Baptist (5-18, 4-11 SLC)

MEN’S TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE

First Round – Tuesday, March 9, 2021
5:00 PM – Game 1 – No. 8 Southeastern Louisiana vs. No. 9 McNeese (ESPN+)
8:00 PM – Game 2 – No. 7 UIW vs. No. 10 Houston Baptist (ESPN+)

Second Round – Wednesday, March 10, 2021
5:00 PM – Game 3 – No. 5 New Orleans vs. Game 1 Winner (ESPN+)
8:00 PM – Game 4 – No. 6 Lamar vs. Game 2 Winner (ESPN+)

Second Round – Thursday, March 11, 2021
5:00 PM – Game 5 – No. 4 Northwestern State vs. Game 3 Winner (ESPN+)
8:00 PM – Game 6 – No. 3 Sam Houston vs. Game 4 Winner (ESPN+)

Semifinals – Friday, March 12, 2021
5:00 PM – Game 7 – No. 1 Nicholls vs. Game 5 Winner (ESPN+)
8:00 PM – Game 8 – No. 2 Abilene Christian vs. Game 6 Winner (ESPN+)

Championship – Saturday, March 13, 2021
8:30 PM – Winner Game 7 vs. Winner Game 8 (ESPN2)