Southland Conference NCAA Tournament Betting

Southland Conference NCAA Tournament Betting

The loss of five teams to different conferences last summer really hurt the Southland Conference. Stephen F. Austin and Abilene Christian had won six of the last seven conference tournaments, so their departure has led to this conference ranking second-to-last in the Ken Pomeroy ratings. Nicholls is currently the only 20-win team in the Southland, and the Colonels are hoping to make the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1998.

Nicholls was the regular season conference champion last year. The Colonels cruised to a win over Northwestern State in the semifinals, but they were blasted by 34 points by Abilene Christian in the Southland Conference Championship Game. They have taken the most advantage of the weakened state of the conference, yet they have lost three times to Southeastern Louisiana this season.

The Southeastern Louisiana Lions have taken care of business against Nicholls, but they split their two games against other top conference team New Orleans. Southeastern Louisiana has one of the worst defenses in the country though, as they rank 343rd in defensive efficiency and allow opponents to make 56.2% of their two-pointers. The Lions need to have their guards step up if they are going to make March Madness.

Derek St. Hilaire is one of the top players in the Southland, averaging 20.6 PPG. Hilaire has made New Orleans a real contender this season, and the Privateers have won 13 of their last 16 games after a poor start to the year.

Southland Conference Tournament Format

The 2022 Southland Conference Tournament will be the last held at the Merrell Center in Katy, Texas for the foreseeable future. This event will move to The Legacy Center in Lake Charles, Louisiana in 2023 as part of the deal to keep McNeese State in the conference.

This conference tournament will take place from Wednesday, March 9, to Saturday, March 12, and each of the eight teams will be involved. However, rather than a traditional eight-team bracket, the bottom four teams will play in the first round on Wednesday, March 9. Those winners will play the No. 4 and No. 3 seeds on Thursday, March 10, giving the top two seeds automatic double byes into the semifinals on Friday, March 11. The Southland Conference Championship Game will take place on Saturday, March 12, at 8:30 p.m. ET on ESPN2.

Most Wins All-Time in Southland Tournament

For as many colleges as there are in Texas, you'd think that the Southland would have no shortage of teams to choose from to fill its’ membership. That said, teams like UTSA, Louisiana Tech, and North Texas have consistently moved on to bigger conferences due largely to football. This conference has taken another huge blow too in recent years as Abilene Christian, Central Arkansas, Lamar, Sam Houston State, and Stephen F. Austin all left the Southland at the end of the 2020-2021 calendar year. Incarnate Word will be leaving next season, but the Southland did manage to keep McNeese State. That means the Southland will remain at eight teams with Texas A&M-Commerce moving up from Division II this summer.

The massive shakeup means that the active team with the most success in the conference tournament is Northwestern State. The Demons have won the Southland Conference Tournament three times, and they stunned No. 3 Iowa as a No. 14 seed in the 2006 NCAA Tournament.

Currently, the only other active schools with multiple Southland Conference Tournament titles are McNeese State and Nicholls. The two Louisiana schools have been lightweights in basketball though with no titles in the last two decades.

Southland Tournament Championship Games

NCAA Basketball Conferences

• America East
• American Athletic
• Atlantic 10
• Atlantic Coast
• Atlantic Sun
• Big 12
• Big East
• Big Sky
• Big South
• Big Ten
• Big West
• Colonial Athletic Association
• Conference USA
• Horizon League
• Ivy League
• Metro Atlantic Athletic
• Mid-American
• Mid-Eastern Athletic
• Missouri Valley
• Mountain West
• Northeast
• Ohio Valley
• Pac-12
• Patriot League
• Southeastern
• Southern
• Southland
• Southwestern Athletic
• Summit League
• Sun Belt
• West Coast
• Western Athletic

Access live betting and NCAA Basketball Betting Odds from your mobile device at BookMaker Sportsbook! You can wager on sporting events as they unfold on television with BookMaker’s live betting platform. Real-time spreads, totals, props and moneyline odds are all available by clicking here so start betting with BookMaker Sportsbook now!