2015 basketball tournament
The 2015 Southland Conference men's basketball tournament , a part of the 2014–15 NCAA Division I men's basketball season , took place March 11–14 at the Merrell Center in Katy, Texas .[ 1] [ 2] Southland Conference 's automatic bid to the 2015 NCAA tournament . Two programs in their second year of the transition from NCAA Division II to Division I, Abilene Christian and Incarnate Word , were ineligible for the tournament.[ 3] [ 4] NCAA Academic Performance Rating (APR) requirements. Those teams were Central Arkansas , Houston Baptist , and Lamar . The three teams are part of a group of nine NCAA teams ineligible for 2015 post season basketball play.[ 5] [ 6] Oral Roberts to the Summit League , only eight conference teams remain eligible for the tournament.[ 7]
Seeds
Only the top eight teams advanced to the Southland Conference tournament. If a team ineligible for the NCAA Tournament should finish in the top eight, its seed will fall to the next eligible team. Teams were seeded based on conference record and then a tie breaker system was used. The top two seeds received a double bye, and the third and fourth seeds received a single bye.
Seed
School
Conference
Overall
Tiebreaker
1
Stephen F. Austin ‡*
17–1
27–4
2
Sam Houston State *
15–3
24–7
3
Texas A&M CC #
13–5
18–12
Played one game against Northwestern State.
4
Northwestern St #
13–5
18–11
Played one game against Texas A&M–Corpus Christi.
5
McNeese St
8–10
14–15
Incarnate Word and Lamar are ineligible.
6
Nicholls State
7–11
10–18
Houston Baptist ineligible.
7
New Orleans
6–12
10–17
2–0 vs. SE Louisiana
8
Southeastern Louisiana
6–12
9–22
0–2 vs. New Orleans
‡ Southland Conference regular season champions.Overall record as of end of regular season .
Source: [ 8]
Schedule
Session
Game
Time*
Matchup#
Score
Television
First round – Wednesday, March 11
1
1
5:00 pm
#5 McNeese State vs. #8 Southeastern Louisiana
62–60
SLC Digital
2
7:30 pm
#6 Nicholls State vs. #7 New Orleans
82–73
Quarterfinals – Thursday, March 12
2
3
5:00pm
#4 Northwestern St vs. #5 McNeese State
96–89
SLC Digital
4
7:30pm
#3 Texas A&M CC vs. #7 New Orleans
61–58
Semifinals – Friday, March 13
3
5
5:00 pm
#1 Stephen F. Austin vs. #4 Northwestern St
91–79
ESPN3
6
7:30pm
#2 Sam Houston State vs. #3 Texas A&M CC
70–67
Championship – Saturday, March 14
4
7
8:30pm
#1 Stephen F. Austin vs. #2 Sam Houston State
83-70
ESPN2
*Game times in CST . #-Rankings denote tournament seeding.
Bracket
First round Quarterfinals Semifinals ESPN3
Championship ESPN2
1
Stephen F. Austin 91
4
Northwestern St
79
4
Northwestern St 96
5
McNeese State
62 *
5
McNeese State
89
8
Southeastern Louisiana
60
1
Stephen F. Austin
83
2
Sam Houston State
70
2
Sam Houston State 70
3
Texas A&M CC
67
3
Texas A&M CC 61
6
Nicholls State
73
7
New Orleans
58
7
New Orleans 82
Game summaries
McNeese State Cowboys 70 , Southeastern Louisiana Lions 68 (OT)
Scoring by half: 27–27, 28–28 Overtime :
Pts :Rebs :Asts :Pts: Cedric Jenkins 27Rebs: Onochie Ochie 11Asts: Jimmie Duplessis 9
Merrell CenterAttendance: 1,029Referees: Brent Meaux; Gerald Williams; Mitchell Ervin
New Orleans Privateers 82 , Nicholls Colonels 73
Scoring by half: 39–42, 43–31
Pts :Rebs :Asts :Pts: Amin Torres 17Rebs: Sam McBeath 13Asts: Liam Thomas 4
Merrell CenterAttendance: 1,029Referees: Rob Wolff; Dave Cusick; KB Burdett
Northwestern State Demons 96 , McNeese State Cowboys 89
Scoring by half: 41–34, 55–55
Pts :Rebs :Asts :Pts: Kevin Hardy 25Rebs: Desharik Guidry 15Asts: Kevin Hardy 5
Merrell CenterAttendance: 1,213Referees: Jeff Malham; Toby Martinez; Pat Boeh
Texas A&M–Corpus Christi Islanders 61 , New Orleans Privateers 58
Scoring by half: 33–34, 28–24
Pts :Rebs :Rashawn Thomas 7Asts :Pts: Nate Frye 20Rebs: Travin Thibodeaux 12Asts: Christavious Gill 2
Merrell CenterAttendance: 1,213Referees: Brad Fowler; Brent Dugas; Ross Cullins
Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks 91 , Northwestern State Demons 79
Scoring by half: 45–41, 46–38
Pts :Rebs :Asts :Pts: Jalan West 25Rebs: Zeek Woodley 8Asts: Jalan West 9
Merrell CenterAttendance: 3,268Referees: Mike Thibodeaux; Rodrick Dixon; Ryan McDaniel
Sam Houston State Bearkats 70 , Texas A&M–Corpus Christi Islanders 67
Scoring by half: 21–29, 49–38
Pts :Rebs :Asts :Pts: John Jordan 20Rebs: Bryce Douvier 7Asts: John Jordan 5
Merrell CenterAttendance: 3,268Referees: Sean Casey; Kelly Hunt; Marques Pettigrew
Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks 83 , Sam Houston State Bearkats 70
Scoring by half: 37–27, 46–43
Pts :Rebs :Asts :Pts: Michael Holyfield 18Rebs: Michael Holyfield 12Asts: 3 players for 3
Merrell CenterAttendance: 5,016Referees: Keith Kimble; Brent Meaux; James Durham
Awards and honors
Source: [ 9] Tournament MVP : Thomas Walkup – Stephen F. Austin
All-Tournament Team:
Thomas Walkup – Stephen F. AustinJared Johnson – Stephen F. Austin
Michael Holyfield – Sam Houston State
Jabari Peters – Sam Houston State
Zeek Woodley – Northwestern State
See also
References
^ "2014-15 Championship Information" . Southland Conference. Retrieved September 20, 2015 .^ "Southland Conference Spring Meeting Concludes" . KBTX-TV Channel 3. Archived from the original on May 15, 2015. Retrieved September 20, 2015 .^ "Timeline for the move to NCAA Division I status" . Abilene Christian University. Archived from the original on November 17, 2015. Retrieved March 8, 2015 .^ "Division I FAQ" . University of the Incarnate Word. Archived from the original on February 23, 2015. Retrieved March 8, 2015 .^ "Nine teams ineligible for postseason play due to Academic Progress Rate numbers - CollegeBasketballTalk" . Collegebasketballtalk.nbcsports.com. Retrieved January 1, 2015 .^ Matt Norlander (May 14, 2014). "Eight programs to miss 2015 postseason due to APR penalties" . CBSSports.com. Retrieved February 5, 2015 . ^ "American Press - Sports" . Americanpress.com. Archived from the original on September 20, 2014. Retrieved January 1, 2015 .^ "Men'S Basketball Tournament Tie-Breaker Scenarios" . Southland Conference. March 6, 2015. Retrieved March 8, 2015 .^ "SFA Earns Second Consecutive Bid To NCAA With Tournament Title" . Southland Conference. March 15, 2015. Retrieved March 16, 2015 .
External links
