# 2016 Southland Conference men's basketball tournament

The 2016 Southland Conference men's basketball tournament, a part of the 2015–16 NCAA Division I men's basketball season, took place March 9–12 at the Merrell Center in Katy, Texas. The winner of the tournament will receive the Southland Conference's automatic bid to the 2016 NCAA tournament.
Two programs in their third year of the transition from NCAA Division II to Division I, Abilene Christian and Incarnate Word, were ineligible for the tournament. In addition, Central Arkansas was ineligible for the tournament for failure to meet enhanced NCAA Academic Performance Rating (APR) requirements.

## Seeds

The top 8 teams in the conference qualified for the tournament. The top 2 seeds earned double byes into the Semifinals. The #3 and #4 seeds received a single buy to the Quarterfinals.
Teams were seeded by record within the division and conference, with a tiebreaker system to seed teams with identical conference records.
| Seed | School | Conference | Tiebreaker |
| 1 | Stephen F. Austin | 18–0 | |
| 2 | Texas A&M–CC | 15–3 | |
| 3 | Sam Houston State | 12–6 | |
| 4 | Houston Baptist | 10–8 | |
| 5 | Southeastern Louisiana | 9–9 | |
| 6 | McNeese State | 7–11 | |
| 7 | Nicholls State | 6–12 | 1–1 vs. Southeastern Louisiana |
| 8 | New Orleans | 6–12 | 0–2 vs. Southeastern Louisiana |

## Schedule

| Session | Game | Time* | Matchup$^#$ | Score | Television |
| First round – Wednesday, March 9 ||||||
| 1 | 1 | 5:00 pm | #5 Southeastern Louisiana vs. #8 New Orleans | 84–74 | ESPN3 |
| 1 | 2 | 7:30 pm | #6 McNeese State vs. #7 Nicholls State | 90–94$^{2OT}$ | ESPN3 |
| Quarterfinals – Thursday, March 10 ||||||
| 2 | 3 | 5:00pm | #4 Houston Baptist vs. #5 Southeastern Louisiana | 73–68 | ESPN3 |
| 2 | 4 | 7:30pm | #3 Sam Houston State vs. #7 Nicholls State | 60–59 | ESPN3 |
| Semifinals – Friday, March 11 ||||||
| 3 | 5 | 5:00 pm | #1 Stephen F. Austin vs. #4 Houston Baptist | 104–68 | ESPN3 |
| 3 | 6 | 7:30pm | #2 Texas A&M–CC vs. #3 Sam Houston State | 79–76 | ESPN3 |
| Championship – Saturday, March 12 ||||||
| 4 | 7 | 8:30pm | #1 Stephen F. Austin vs. #2 Texas A&M–CC | 82–60 | ESPN2 |
| *Game times in CST. #-Rankings denote tournament seeding. ||||||

## Bracket

| First round Wednesday, March 9 ESPN3 | First round Wednesday, March 9 ESPN3 | First round Wednesday, March 9 ESPN3 | Quarterfinals Thursday, March 10 ESPN3 | Quarterfinals Thursday, March 10 ESPN3 | Quarterfinals Thursday, March 10 ESPN3 | Semifinals Friday, March 11 ESPN3 | Semifinals Friday, March 11 ESPN3 | Semifinals Friday, March 11 ESPN3 | Championship Saturday, March 12 ESPN2 | Championship Saturday, March 12 ESPN2 | Championship Saturday, March 12 ESPN2 |
| | | | | | | 1 | Stephen F. Austin | 104 | | | |
| | | | | | | 4 | Houston Baptist | 68 | | | |
| | | | 4 | Houston Baptist | 73 | | | | | | |
| 5 | SE Louisiana | 84 | 5 | SE Louisiana | 68 | | | | | | |
| 8 | New Orleans | 74 | | | | | | | 1 | Stephen F. Austin | 82 |
| | | | | | | | | | 2 | Texas A&M–CC | 60 |
| | | | | | | 2 | Texas A&M–CC | 79 | | | |
| | | | | | | 3 | Sam Houston State | 76 | | | |
| | | | 3 | Sam Houston State | 60 | | | | | | |
| 6 | McNeese State | 90 | 7 | Nicholls State | 59 | | | | | | |
| 7 | Nicholls State | 94** | | | | | | | | | |
* – denotes overtime period

## Game summaries
### First round

* ESPN3
* 03/09/2016 5:00 pm
* Recap
#8 New Orleans 74, #5 Southeastern Louisiana 84 :
| Scoring by half: 42–49, 32–35 |||
| Pts: Nate Frye 21 Rebs: Kevin Hill 8 Asts: Frye, Gill 5 | Pts: Zay Jackson 17 Rebs: Jordan Capps 10 Asts: Joshua Filmore 7 |
* Merrell Center Katy, TX Attendance: 1,077 Referees: Rob Wolff, Jon Stigliano, Kerby Sitton
* ESPN3
* 03/09/2016 7:30 pm
* Recap
#7 Nicholls State 94, #6 McNeese State 90 (2OT) :
| Scoring by half: 48–37, 25–36 Overtime: 21–17 |||
| Pts: T.J. Carpenter 22 Rebs: Liam Thomas 8 Asts: Liam Thomas 3 | Pts: Jarren Greenwood 23 Rebs: Austin Lewis 11 Asts: Jamaya Burr 4 |
* Merrell Center Katy, TX Attendance: 1,077 Referees: Brent Dugas, Dave Cusick, Ross Cullins

### Quarterfinals

* ESPN3
* 03/10/2016 5:00 pm
* Recap
#5 Southeastern Louisiana 68, #4 Houston Baptist 73 :
| Scoring by half: 20–33, 48–40 |||
| Pts: Jordan Capps 23 Rebs: Jordan Capps 10 Asts: Jackson, Veal 4 | Pts: Anthony Odunsi 20 Rebs: Isaiah Robinson 12 Asts: Lasher, Odunsi 3 |
* Merrell Center Katy, TX Attendance: 1,298 Referees: Joe Wilbert III, Jeff Malham, Patrick Boeh
* ESPN3
* 03/10/2016 7:30 pn
* Recap
#7 Nicholls State 59, #3 Sam Houston State 60 :
| Scoring by half: 34–38, 25–22 |||
| Pts: Quinton Thomas 12 Rebs: Carpenter, Thomas 5 Asts: Schane Rillieux 4 | Pts: Aurimas Majauskas 16 Rebs: Torry Butler 10 Asts: Almanza, Delaney 3 |
* Merrell Center Katy, TX Attendance: 1,298 Referees: Gerald Williams, Danny Chance, Sean Casey

### Semifinals

* ESPN3
* 03/11/2016 5:00 pm
* Recap
#4 Houston Baptist 68, #1 Stephen F. Austin 104 :
| Scoring by half: 32–54, 36–50 |||
| Pts: Caleb Crayton 20 Rebs: Lasher, Robinson 5 Asts: Anthony Odunsi 3 | Pts: Demetrious Floyd 30 Rebs: Charles, Geffrard Jr. 9 Asts: Pinkney, Walkup 6 |
* Merrell Center Katy, TX Attendance: 3,019 Referees: Kerry Sitton, James Durham, Toby Martinez
* ESPN3
* 03/11/2016 7:30 pm
* Recap
#3 Sam Houston State 76, #2 Texas A&M–CC 79 :
| Scoring by half: 40–28, 36–51 |||
| Pts: Albert Almanza 17 Rebs: Torry Butler 6 Asts: Jovante' Spivey 5 | Pts: Hameed Ali 18 Rebs: Bryce Douvier 8 Asts: Hameed Ali 4 |
* Merrell Center Katy, TX Attendance: 3,019 Referees: Marques Pettigrew, Brooks Wells, Roger Schmitz

### Championship

* ESPN2
* 03/12/2016 8:30 pm
* Recap
#2 Texas A&M–CC 60, #1 Stephen F. Austin 82 :
| Scoring by half: 29–48, 31–34 |||
| Pts: Joe Kilgore 14 Rebs: Rashawn Thomas 9 Asts: Four Tied 2 | Pts: Thomas Walkup 19 Rebs: Clide Geffrard Jr. 8 Asts: Ty Charles 4 |
* Merrell Center Katy, TX Attendance: 4,399 Referees: Brent Meaux, Keith Kimble, Kelly Hunt

## Awards and honors

Source:
Tournament MVP: Thomas Walkup
All-Tournament Team:
   * Hameed Ali (Texas A&M–CC)
   * Demetrious Floyd (Stephen F. Austin)
   * Thomas Walkup (Stephen F. Austin) (MVP)
   * Clide Geffrard (Stephen F. Austin)
   * Jordan Capps (Southeastern Louisiana)