2015 Southland Conference men's 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] The winner of the tournament received the 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] Three programs were ineligible for the tournament for failure to meet enhanced 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] With the departure of Oral Roberts to the Summit League, only eight conference teams remain eligible for the tournament.[7]

2015 Southland Conference men's basketball tournament
Tournament logo
ClassificationDivision I
Season2014–15
Teams8
SiteMerrell Center
Katy, Texas
ChampionsStephen F. Austin (3rd title)
Winning coachBrad Underwood (2nd title)
MVPThomas Walkup (Stephen F. Austin)
Attendance10,526
TelevisionSLCDN, ESPN3, ESPN2
← 2014
2016 →
2014–15 Southland Conference men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
Stephen F. Austin 17 1   .944 29 5   .853
Sam Houston State 15 3   .833 26 9   .743
Texas A&M–CC 13 5   .722 20 14   .588
Northwestern State 13 5   .722 19 13   .594
Incarnate Word** 10 8   .556 18 11   .621
Lamar* 9 9   .500 15 15   .500
McNeese State 8 10   .444 15 16   .484
Houston Baptist* 7 11   .389 12 16   .429
Nicholls State 7 11   .389 10 19   .345
New Orleans 6 12   .333 11 18   .379
Southeastern Louisiana 6 12   .333 9 23   .281
Abilene Christian** 4 14   .222 10 21   .323
Central Arkansas* 2 16   .111 2 27   .069
* ineligible for postseason due to APR penalties
** ineligible for postseason due to Div. I transition
2015 Southland tournament winner

Seeds

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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.
1–1 vs. Stephen F. Austin
4 Northwestern St# 13–5 18–11 Played one game against Texas A&M–Corpus Christi.
0–2 vs. Stephen F. Austin
5 McNeese St 8–10 14–15 Incarnate Word and Lamar are ineligible.
Starting with McNeese St, eligible teams move up.
6 Nicholls State 7–11 10–18 Houston Baptist ineligible.
Starting with Nicholls State eligible teams move up.
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.
* Receives a first-round and second-round bye in the conference tournament.
# Receives a first-round bye in the conference tournament.
Overall record as of end of regular season.

Source: [8]

Schedule

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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

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First round
Wednesday, March 11
SLC Digital
Quarterfinals
Thursday, March 12
SLC Digital
Semifinals
Friday, March 13
ESPN3
Championship
Saturday, March 14
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
  • denotes an overtime game

Game summaries

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SLC Digital Network
Mar 11
5:00 pm
McNeese State Cowboys 70, Southeastern Louisiana Lions 68 (OT)
Scoring by half: 27–27, 28–28 Overtime: 7–5
Pts: Keelan Garrett 14
Rebs: Austin Lewis 10
Asts: Kevin Hardy 4
Pts: Cedric Jenkins 27
Rebs: Onochie Ochie 11
Asts: Jimmie Duplessis 9
Merrell Center
Katy, TX
Attendance: 1,029
Referees: Brent Meaux; Gerald Williams; Mitchell Ervin
SLC Digital Network
Mar 11
7:30 pm
New Orleans Privateers 82, Nicholls Colonels 73
Scoring by half: 39–42, 43–31
Pts: Kevin Brown 24
Rebs: Kevin Hill 10
Asts: Tevin Broyles 5
Pts: Amin Torres 17
Rebs: Sam McBeath 13
Asts: Liam Thomas 4
Merrell Center
Katy, TX
Attendance: 1,029
Referees: Rob Wolff; Dave Cusick; KB Burdett
SLC Digital Network
Mar 12
5:00 pm
Northwestern State Demons 96, McNeese State Cowboys 89
Scoring by half: 41–34, 55–55
Pts: Zeek Woodley 34
Rebs: Zeek Woodley 9
Asts: Jalan West 12
Pts: Kevin Hardy 25
Rebs: Desharik Guidry 15
Asts: Kevin Hardy 5
Merrell Center
Katy, TX
Attendance: 1,213
Referees: Jeff Malham; Toby Martinez; Pat Boeh
SLC Digital Network
Mar 12
7:30 pm
Texas A&M–Corpus Christi Islanders 61, New Orleans Privateers 58
Scoring by half: 33–34, 28–24
Pts: John Jordan 22
Rebs: Rashawn Thomas 7
Asts: John Jordan 4
Pts: Nate Frye 20
Rebs: Travin Thibodeaux 12
Asts: Christavious Gill 2
Merrell Center
Katy, TX
Attendance: 1,213
Referees: Brad Fowler; Brent Dugas; Ross Cullins
ESPN3
Mar 13
5:00 pm
Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks 91, Northwestern State Demons 79
Scoring by half: 45–41, 46–38
Pts: Ty Charles; Jared Johnson 16
Rebs: Jacob Parker 10
Asts: Thomas Walkup 7
Pts: Jalan West 25
Rebs: Zeek Woodley 8
Asts: Jalan West 9
Merrell Center
Katy, TX
Attendance: 3,268
Referees: Mike Thibodeaux; Rodrick Dixon; Ryan McDaniel
ESPN3
Mar 13
7:30 pm
Sam Houston State Bearkats 70, Texas A&M–Corpus Christi Islanders 67
Scoring by half: 21–29, 49–38
Pts: Jabari Peters 19
Rebs: Michael Holyfield 14
Asts: DeMarcus Gatlin 4
Pts: John Jordan 20
Rebs: Bryce Douvier 7
Asts: John Jordan 5
Merrell Center
Katy, TX
Attendance: 3,268
Referees: Sean Casey; Kelly Hunt; Marques Pettigrew
ESPN2
Mar 14
8:30 pm
Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks 83, Sam Houston State Bearkats 70
Scoring by half: 37–27, 46–43
Pts: Thomas Walkup 24
Rebs: Thomas Walkup 8
Asts: Thomas Walkup 5
Pts: Michael Holyfield 18
Rebs: Michael Holyfield 12
Asts: 3 players for 3
Merrell Center
Katy, TX
Attendance: 5,016
Referees: Keith Kimble; Brent Meaux; James Durham

Awards and honors

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Source: [9]
Tournament MVP: Thomas Walkup – Stephen F. Austin

All-Tournament Team:

  • Thomas Walkup – Stephen F. Austin
  • Jared Johnson – Stephen F. Austin
  • Michael Holyfield – Sam Houston State
  • Jabari Peters – Sam Houston State
  • Zeek Woodley – Northwestern State

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "2014-15 Championship Information". Southland Conference. Retrieved September 20, 2015.
  2. ^ "Southland Conference Spring Meeting Concludes". KBTX-TV Channel 3. Archived from the original on May 15, 2015. Retrieved September 20, 2015.
  3. ^ "Timeline for the move to NCAA Division I status". Abilene Christian University. Archived from the original on November 17, 2015. Retrieved March 8, 2015.
  4. ^ "Division I FAQ". University of the Incarnate Word. Archived from the original on February 23, 2015. Retrieved March 8, 2015.
  5. ^ "Nine teams ineligible for postseason play due to Academic Progress Rate numbers - CollegeBasketballTalk". Collegebasketballtalk.nbcsports.com. Retrieved January 1, 2015.
  6. ^ Matt Norlander (May 14, 2014). "Eight programs to miss 2015 postseason due to APR penalties". CBSSports.com. Retrieved February 5, 2015.
  7. ^ "American Press - Sports". Americanpress.com. Archived from the original on September 20, 2014. Retrieved January 1, 2015.
  8. ^ "Men'S Basketball Tournament Tie-Breaker Scenarios". Southland Conference. March 6, 2015. Retrieved March 8, 2015.
  9. ^ "SFA Earns Second Consecutive Bid To NCAA With Tournament Title". Southland Conference. March 15, 2015. Retrieved March 16, 2015.
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