Breaking down the Southland Conference basketball tournament schedule

The Southland Conference Championship stretches from March 9-13, with all games taking place at the Leonard E. Merrell Center in Katy, Texas. The tournament will include 10 teams, who will play single-elimination games with no reseeding.

There will be a triple-bye for the top two seeds in Nicholls State and Abilene Christian, a double-bye for Sam Houston State and Northwestern State, and a single-bye for New Orleans and Lamar.

Nicholls State finished with a 14-2 record in the league and earned the No. 1 seed, but Abilene Christian will be the favorite with their 13-2 Southland record, a 21-4 overall mark, with a big win over East Tennessee State to open the season and a “good” loss at Arkansas 85-72.

Here is the complete bracket for the 2021 Southland Conference Tournament:

Tuesday, March 9, Opening Round

Game 1: No. 8 Southeastern Louisiana 71-68 over No. 9 McNeese State
Game 2: No. 10 Houston Baptist 80-68 over No. 7 UIW

Wednesday, March 10, First Round

Game 3: No. 5 New Orleans 80-63 over No. 8 Southeastern Louisiana
Game 4: No. 6 Lamar 62-52 over No. 10 Houston Baptist

Thursday, March 11, Quarterfinals

Game 5: No. 4 Northwestern State 82-79 over No. 5 New Orleans
Game 6: No. 6 Lamar 70-69 over No. 3 Sam Houston State

Friday, March 12: Semifinals

Game 7: No. 1 Nicholls 88-76 over No. 4 Northwestern State
Game 8: No. 2 Abilene Christian 93-71 over No. 6 Lamar

Saturday, March 13: Championship game

Game 9: No. 2 Abilene Christian 79-45 over No. 1 Nicholls

The Wildcats get an assist on over two-thirds of their made baskets, and their ability to share the ball is how they got this far. Two blowout wins in the Southland Tournament shows they’re in form, and will have a chance to steal a game or two on the opening weekend using a deep bench.