2009 Southland Conference Tournament Preview

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

03/10/2009 - Philadelphia, PA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - There are 12 teams in the Southland Conference, but only the top eight have been invited to participate in the 29th annual league tournament. The winner of this three-day event will receive a bid to the NCAA Tournament, so expect the competition to be fierce.

Stephen F. Austin won its final five regular season games to capture the top seed. The Lumberjacks have never won this tournament, so the fans of the team are obviously excited about the chance of seeing history made. Nicholls State, the second seed, is riding a four-game winning streak, and third-seeded Sam Houston State finished first in the conference's West Division. Fourth-seeded Texas A&M Corpus Christi won this event for the first and only time two years ago, and the club closed out the regular season with back-to-back wins.

As for Texas-Arlington, which won the tourney title last season, it has earned the fifth seed and will need to score a few upsets to repeat as champion. Sixth-seeded Texas-San Antonio, seventh-seeded Texas State and eighth-seeded Southeastern Louisiana round out the bracket. Lamar, which has more Southland Tournament titles (3) than any other active league member, finished 6-10 in league play and didn't make the tourney field.

The first of four quarterfinal matchups pits the second-seeded Nicholls State Colonels against the seventh-seeded Texas State Bobcats. While Texas State may be considered the underdog in this matchup when looking at the seeding, the Bobcats beat the Colonels in overtime in the only matchup between the teams during the regular season. Nicholls State plays stingy defense, as it is limiting opponents to 59.8 ppg while also shooting a league-leading 47.7 percent from the floor. The Colonels, who are last in the conference in blocked shots and last in defense rebounds, are led by Ryan Bathie, who is scoring 15.6 ppg to pace sixth in the conference. As for Texas State, it leads the Southland in scoring with 81.7 ppg while placing next to last in scoring defense (77.2 ppg). The Bobcats are shooting 37.3 percent from three-point range, the best mark in the conference. Brandon Bush is fifth in the league n scoring with 15.8 ppg while placing eighth in rebounding (7.1 rpg). He gets plenty of help from Brent Benson (15.4 ppg).

Third-seeded Sam Houston State will attempt to avoid an upset against sixth- seeded Texas-San Antonio on Thursday. Sam Houston State beat Texas-San Antonio in both meetings during the regular season, once in double-overtime and once in a blowout. The Bearkats racked up 89 points in both of those wins, and they are scoring 76.0 ppg this season while allowing 68.8 ppg. They lead the league in both assists and assist/turnover ratio. Corey Allmond paces Sam Houston State with 15.4 ppg, while Ashton Mitchell leads both the team and league in assists (6.8 apg). The Roadrunners of Texas-San Antonio are getting 12.9 ppg from Travis Gabbidon and 12.6 ppg from Omar Johnson. Devin Gibson provides 11.7 ppg for the Roadrunners, who lead the league in turnover margin and steals. Unfortunately, they are last in the league in field goal percentage defense.

In what appears to be a mismatch, the top-seeded Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks will tangle with the eighth-seeded Southeastern Louisiana Lions in the quarterfinal round. Stephen F. Austin won both matchups with Southeastern Louisiana during the regular season. The Lumberjacks are scoring a modest 66.3 ppg this season, placing them ninth out of 12 Southland teams in regard to output. Fortunately, they are tops defensively, limiting foes to 55.8 ppg on 37.2 percent shooting from the floor. Matt Kingsley leads Stephen F. Austin with 15.9 ppg, good for a third place tie in the league stats, and he is fifth in rebounding (7.5 rpg) while shooting 55.1 percent from the floor. Southeastern Louisiana's leading scorer, Patrick Sullivan, ranks 20th in the conference with his 12.1 ppg. He is seventh in rebounding with 7.1 rpg, but he will need plenty of help from a mediocre supporting cast to have a chance to score an upset in the quarterfinals. The Lions are in the top half of the league standings in both scoring offense and scoring defense, and they do carry a four-game winning streak into this event.

Rounding out the quarterfinal matchups is a clash between the fourth-seeded Texas A&M Corpus Christi Islanders against the fifth-seeded UT-Arlington Mavericks. These two teams met in the regular season finale, a game won by Texas A&M Corpus Christi, 79-66. The Islanders also won the first meeting between the squads in early February, so the Mavericks will be attempting to avoid a three-game sweep. Kevin Palmer of Texas A&M Corpus Christi leads the league in scoring with 17.8 ppg, placing just slightly ahead of Texas- Arlington's Anthony Vereen (17.7 ppg). The third-leading scorer in the conference is Marquez Haynes (15.9 ppg), who also happens to play for the Mavericks. Arlington leads the league in free throw percentage, while Corpus Christi is tops in rebounding margin.