2009 Southland Conference Tournament Predictions
TweetThe 2009 Southland Conference Men’s Basketball Tournament tips off Thursday, March 12th and concludes on Sunday, March 15th. You can catch all the action live at the Merrell Center in Katy, Texas or you can watch the championship game on ESPN 2. Only the top 8 schools in the 12 team league get a chance to compete for the conference tournament title. With no teams in this league qualified enough to receive an at large bid, it will only be the winner of this tournament which gets to go dancing. Texas Arlington shocked the league by racing to the title as a No. 7 seed a season ago. Will we have another Cinderella story in 2009? Jimmy Boyd takes a look at the two teams with the best chance at cutting down the nets in this article.
The Favorite: Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks
The Lumberjacks finished with the best record in conference play at 13-3 and are the clear favorites to win automatic entry to the Big Dance. Stephen F. Austin was a No. 1 seed in this tournament last season as well, but was upset in the semifinals by Northwestern State. Not winning it all last year makes the Lumberjacks even hungrier to get the job done this season. The Lumberjacks come in riding high on a 5 game winning streak so momentum should not be an issue. The Lumberjacks played a pretty strong non-conference slate and showed well against Texas A&M, Arkansas, and Texas Tech. SFA success is no secret. It plays better defense than just about any team in the country, ranking 2nd in scoring defense (55.5 ppg), 3rd in field goal percentage defense (37.0%), and 1st in three point field goal percentage defense (26.4%). Offensively, it’s the Matt Kingsley show, leading the way in scoring and rebounding.
Another Team That Can Win: Nicholls State Colonels
The Colonels are the No. 2 seed in the tournament and winners of the East Division with a 12-4 conference mark. They split with the Lumberjacks this season and are confident that they can bring home the hardware. It’s been a remarkable season for the Colonels who did not finish with a good enough record to even make the tournament last season. Like SFA, the Colonels are also a very good defensive team, holding their opponents under 60 points per game. And they are very efficient on offense, shooting nearly 50 percent as a team for the season. The Colonels are going to need a big tournament from leading scorer Ryan Bathie to have a shot at winning it all.
2008 Southland Conference Tournament Recap:
Cinderella stories are well received this time of year and Texas Arlington gave Southland fans one to remember in last year’s tourney. The Mavs won 3 tough games to collect the hardware as a No. 7 seed. It was the first time it school history that the Mavs had made the NCAA Tournament.