Southland Conference expands basketball tournaments from 8 to 10 teams

FRISCO, Texas – Acknowledging the numerous difficulties of playing through the COVID-19 pandemic, the Southland Conference Board of Directors recently agreed to expand the field of the 2021 Hercules Tires Southland Men’s and Women’s Basketball Tournaments from eight to 10 teams.

The presidential decision follows a recommendation from campus athletic directors, adding two more teams to the tournament bracket now set for March 9-14 at the Leonard E. Merrell Center.

“The Southland administrators have been reviewing tournament plans throughout this unique and challenging season, and while our teams have performed admirably to play the number of games they have, there was a recognition that rewarding more teams and student-athletes with a postseason opportunity was important,” Southland Commissioner Tom Burnett said. “We look forward to providing our 20 qualifying teams a great competitive opportunity to play for our tournament championships and the chance to advance to March Madness.”

The expanded bracket will feature men’s first round games on Tuesday, March 9, followed by women’s first round and men’s second round contests on Wednesday, March 10, and women’s second round and men’s third round games on Thursday, March 11. The women’s third round and men’s semifinals will take place on Friday, March 12, followed by the women’s semifinals on Saturday, March 13. All preliminary round games of the tournament will be televised live on ESPN+.

The men’s championship game will be played Saturday night, March 13, and be broadcast live on ESPN2, while the women’s championship games will be played Sunday afternoon, March 14, and be televised live on CBS Sports Network. 2021 marks the 14th consecutive year the Southland Tournament has been held at the Merrell Center. Tickets are available on Ticketmaster.

The men’s and women’s tournament champions will earn the Southland’s automatic berth into the NCAA Basketball Championships.

2021 SOUTHLAND CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE – REVISED
(All times Central)

Tuesday, March 9
Men’s Game 1 No. 8 seed vs. No. 9 seed 5 p.m. (ESPN+)
Men’s Game 2 No. 7 seed vs. No. 10 seed 8 p.m. (ESPN+)

Wednesday, March 10
Women’s Game 1 No. 8 seed vs. No. 9 seed 11 a.m. (ESPN+)
Women’s Game 2 No. 7 seed vs. No. 10 seed 2 p.m. (ESPN+)
Men’s Game 3 No. 5 seed vs. Winner Game 1 5 p.m. (ESPN+)
Men’s Game 4 No. 6 seed vs. Winner Game 2 8 p.m. (ESPN+)

Thursday, March 11
Women’s Game 3 No. 5 seed vs. Winner Game 1 11 a.m. (ESPN+)
Women’s Game 4 No. 6 seed vs. Winner Game 2 2 p.m. (ESPN+)
Men’s Game 5 No. 4 seed vs. Winner Game 3 5 p.m. (ESPN+)
Men’s Game 6 No. 3 seed vs. Winner Game 4 8 p.m. (ESPN+)

Friday, March 12
Women’s Game 5 No. 4 seed vs. Winner Game 3 11 a.m. (ESPN+)
Women’s Game 6 No. 3 seed vs. Winner Game 4 2 p.m. (ESPN+)
Men’s Game 7 No. 1 seed vs. Winner Game 5 5 p.m. (ESPN+)
Men’s Game 8 No. 2 seed vs. Winner Game 6 8 p.m. (ESPN+)

Saturday, March 13
Women’s Game 7 No. 1 seed vs. Winner Game 7 1 p.m. (ESPN+)
Women’s Game 8 No. 2 seed vs. Winner Game 8 4 p.m. (ESPN+)
Men’s Championship Winners of Game 7 & 8 8:30 p.m. (ESPN2)

Sunday, March 14
Women’s Championship Winners of Game 7 & 8 1 p.m. (CBS SN)