# 2017 Southland Conference men's basketball tournament

The 2017 Southland Conference men's basketball tournament, was the postseason men's basketball tournament that completed 2016–17 season in the Southland Conference. The tournament was held at the Merrell Center in Katy, Texas from March 8–11, 2017. The winner of the tournament, New Orleans, received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament with a 68–65 OT win over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.
Two programs in their final year of the transition from NCAA Division II to Division I, Abilene Christian and Incarnate Word, were ineligible for the tournament.

## Seeds

The top 8 teams in the conference qualified for the tournament. The top two seeds earned double byes into the semifinals in the merit-based format. The No. 3 and No. 4 seeds received single byes to the quarterfinals.
Teams were seeded by record within the conference, with a tiebreaker system to seed teams with identical conference records.
| Seed | School | Conference | Tiebreaker 1 | Tiebreaker 2 |
| 1 | New Orleans | 13–5 | | |
| 2 | Texas A&M–CC | 12–6 | 2–0 vs. Incarnate Word | |
| 3 | Stephen F. Austin | 12–6 | 1–1 vs. Incarnate Word | 2–0 vs. Texas A&M-CC |
| 4 | Houston Baptist | 12–6 | 1–1 vs. Incarnate Word | 1–1 vs. Texas A&M-CC |
| 5 | Sam Houston State | 10–8 | 1–0 vs. New Orleans | |
| 6 | Lamar | 10–8 | 0–1 vs. New Orleans | |
| 7 | Southeastern Louisiana | 9–9 | | |
| 8 | Central Arkansas | 7–11 | 4–3 vs. UIW/Nicholls State/Northwestern State/ACU | 1–1 vs. Northwestern State |
| N/A | Nicholls State | 7–11 | 4–3 vs. UIW/Central Arkansas/Northwestern State/ACU | 0–2 vs. Northwestern State |
| N/A | Northwestern State | 7–11 | 3–3 vs. UIW/Central Arkansas/Nicholls State/ACU | |

## Schedule

| Session | Game | Time* | Matchup$^#$ | Score | Television |
| First round – Wednesday, March 8, 2017 ||||||
| 1 | 1 | 5:00 pm | No. 5 Sam Houston State vs. No. 8 Central Arkansas | 77–69 | ESPN3 |
| 1 | 2 | 7:30 pm | No. 6 Lamar vs. No. 7 Southeastern Louisiana | 77–65 | ESPN3 |
| Quarterfinals – Thursday, March 9, 2017 ||||||
| 2 | 3 | 5:00 pm | No. 4 Houston Baptist vs. No. 5 Sam Houston State | 59–63 | ESPN3 |
| 2 | 4 | 7:30 pm | No. 3 Stephen F. Austin vs. No. 6 Lamar | 75–59 | ESPN3 |
| Semifinals – Friday, March 10, 2017 ||||||
| 3 | 5 | 5:00 pm | No. 1 New Orleans vs. No. 5 Sam Houston State | 75–63 | ESPN3 |
| 3 | 6 | 7:30 pm | No. 2 Texas A&M Corpus Christi vs. No. 3 Stephen F. Austin | 77–69 | ESPN3 |
| Championship – Saturday, March 11, 2017 ||||||
| 4 | 7 | 8:30 pm | No. 1 New Orleans vs. No. 2 Texas A&M Corpus Christi | 68–65 $^{OT}$ | ESPN2 |
| *Game times in CST. #-Rankings denote tournament seeding. ||||||

## Bracket

| First round Wednesday, March 8 ESPN3 | First round Wednesday, March 8 ESPN3 | First round Wednesday, March 8 ESPN3 | Quarterfinals Thursday, March 9 ESPN3 | Quarterfinals Thursday, March 9 ESPN3 | Quarterfinals Thursday, March 9 ESPN3 | Semifinals Friday, March 10 ESPN3 | Semifinals Friday, March 10 ESPN3 | Semifinals Friday, March 10 ESPN3 | Championship Saturday, March 11 ESPN2 | Championship Saturday, March 11 ESPN2 | Championship Saturday, March 11 ESPN2 |
| | | | | | | 1 | New Orleans | 75 | | | |
| | | | | | | 5 | Sam Houston State | 63 | | | |
| | | | 4 | Houston Baptist | 59 | | | | | | |
| 5 | Sam Houston State | 77 | 5 | Sam Houston State | 63 | | | | | | |
| 8 | Central Arkansas | 69 | | | | | | | 1 | New Orleans | 68* |
| | | | | | | | | | 2 | Texas A&M–CC | 65 |
| | | | | | | 2 | Texas A&M–CC | 77 | | | |
| | | | | | | 3 | Stephen F. Austin | 69 | | | |
| | | | 3 | Stephen F. Austin | 75 | | | | | | |
| 6 | Lamar | 77 | 6 | Lamar | 59 | | | | | | |
| 7 | SE Louisiana | 65 | | | | | | | | | |
* – denotes overtime period

## Game summaries
### First round

* ESPN3
* 03/09/2017 5:00 pm
Central Arkansas 69, Sam Houston State 77 :
| Scoring by half: 35–49, 34–28 |||
| Pts: M. Kamba – 21 Rebs: D. Brooks – 10 Asts: J. Howard – 3 | Pts: D. Henderson – 16 Rebs: C. Galbreath Jr. – 9 Asts: P. Baxter – 4 |
* Merrell Center Katy, TX Referees: Rob Wolff, Rodrick Dixon, Dave Cusick
* ESPN3
* 03/09/2017 7:30 pm
SE Louisiana 65, Lamar 77 :
| Scoring by half: 30–34, 35–43 |||
| Pts: M. Veal – 16 Rebs: D. Hayes – 6 Asts: M. Veal – 5 D. Cook – 13 Pts | Pts: N. Garth – 17 Rebs: C. Weisbrod – 9 Asts: 2 Tied – 3 Z. Bosha – 6 Reb |
* Merrell Center Katy, TX Attendance: 1,127 Referees: Danny Chance, Ross Cullins, Owen Shortt

### Quarterfinals

* ESPN3
* 03/10/2017 5:00 pm
Sam Houston State 63, Houston Baptist 59 :
| Scoring by half: 28–26, 35–33 |||
| Pts: C. Galbreath Jr. – 15 Rebs: C. Galbreath Jr. – 10 Asts: J. Dewey III – 4 J. Dewey III – 14 Pts, 6 Reb | Pts: J. Ibarra – 16 Rebs: J. Ibarra – 9 Asts: B. Bonds – 4 R. Chukwujekwu – 14 Pts, 6 Reb |
* Merrell Center Katy, TX Referees: Rodrick Dixon, Jeff Malham, Roger Schmitz
* ESPN3
* 03/10/2017 7:30 pm
Lamar 59, Stephen F. Austin 75 :
| Scoring by half: 25–39, 34–36 |||
| Pts: T. Noel – 14 Rebs: 3 Tied – 3 Asts: N. Garth – 4 J. Frenchwood – 11 Pts | Pts: L. Gilmore III – 19 Rebs: T. Holyfield – 8 Asts: 2 Tied – 4 L. Gilmore III – 7 Reb |
* Merrell Center Katy, TX Attendance: 1,756 Referees: James Durham, Patrick Boeh, Kerby Sitton

### Semifinals

* ESPN3
* 03/11/2017 5:00 pm
Sam Houston State 63, New Orleans 75 :
| Scoring by half: 25–39, 38–36 |||
| Pts: D. Henderson – 16 Rebs: T. Butler – 13 Asts: J. Dewey III – 4 C. Galbreath Jr. – 11 Pts, 4 Reb | Pts: E. Thomas – 18 Rebs: M. Puou – 7 Asts: E. Thomas – 3 C. Gill – 15 Pts |
* Merrell Center Katy, TX Referees: Kerry Sitton, Brooks Wells, Chance Moore
* ESPN3
* 03/11/2017 7:30 pm
Stephen F. Austin 69, Texas A&M–Corpus Christi 77 :
| Scoring by half: 29–42, 40–35 |||
| Pts: L. Gilmore III – 20 Rebs: L. Gilmore III – 10 Asts: D. Cameron – 4 T. Holyfield – 8 Reb | Pts: R. Thomas – 27 Rebs: R. Thomas – 9 Asts: 3 Tied – 3 2 Tied – 3 Stls |
* Merrell Center Katy, TX Attendance: 2,318 Referees: Brent Dugas, Gerald Williams, Kelly Hunt

### Championship

* ESPN2
* 03/12/2017 8:30 pm
Texas A&M–Corpus Christi 65, New Orleans 68 (OT) :
| Scoring by half: 33–26, 27–34, 5–8 |||
| Pts: R. Thomas – 22 Rebs: R. Thomas – 8 Asts: 2 Tied – 4 C. Martinez – 15 Pts | Pts: T. Broyles – 15 Rebs: E. Thomas – 11 Asts: E. Thomas – 3 T. Thibodeaux 8 Pts, 8 Reb |
* Merrell Center Katy, TX Attendance: 2,068 Referees: Brent Meaux, Marques Pettigrew, Rod Dixon

## Awards and honors

Source:
Tournament MVP:
All-Tournament Team: