SFA and Houston Baptist Clash in SLC Tournament Semifinals
3/10/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
2016 SOUTHLAND CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT SEMIFINALS
GAME THIRTY-ONE • rv/-- SFA (25-5, #1 seed) vs. HOUSTON BAPTIST (17-15, #4 seed)
DATE/TIME • Friday, March 11 | 5:00 p.m.
SITE • Leonard E. Merrell Center (7,200) | Katy, Texas
TELEVISION • ESPN3/WatchESPN (PxP, Lincoln Rose - Analysis, Van Chancellor)
LIVE STATS | ESPN VIDEO | RADIO (Rob Meyers on Q107.7) | IN-GAME TWITTER UPDATES (@SFA_MBB)
SFA GAME NOTES • HOUSTON BAPTIST STATE GAME NOTES
THE STARTING FIVE
• All season long, chasing history has been the motto of the rv/-- Stephen F. Austin men’s basketball team and the ‘Jacks are in pursuit of another piece of it on Friday night when they seek to become just the third Southland Conference team in league history to capture three or more consecutive Southland Conference Tournament championships. Standing in the way of the top-seeded ‘Jacks and that goal is number-four seed Houston Baptist who will oppose SFA in the first semifinal of the conference tournament at 5:00 p.m., on Friday evening at the Leonard E. Merrell Center in Katy, Texas. SFA’s semifinal tilt against the Huskies will be broadcast worldwide on ESPN3 and the WatchESPN app with Lincoln Rose and Van Chancellor handling play-by-play and analysis duties. Rob Meyers has also made the trek to Katy, and his call of the SFA/Houston Baptist semifinal clash will be sent out on the airwaves of Q107.7 FM in Nacogdoches and worldwide on q1077.com.
• Since Brad Underwood took over as the 11th head coach in SFA history, the ‘Jacks haven’t lost a game in the Southland Conference Tournament. With Underwood guiding them, SFA has captured number-one seeds in both of the previous seasons and gone 4-0 in that span with two wins each over Northwestern State and Sam Houston State in the league’s postseason tournament to serve as the SLC’s representative in the NCAA Tournament.
• Another elite plateau has been reached by the Lumberjacks after their regular-season ending victory at Sam Houston State last Saturday night. With that win, SFA’s total number of triumphs rose to 25, marking the fourth-straight season that the ‘Jacks have won 25 or more games. Just four other NCAA Division I men’s basketball teams aside from SFA - Arizona, Gonzaga, Kansas and Michigan State - have racked up 25 or more wins in each of the last four seasons.
• The slimmest of margins - just one-tenth of a point to be exact - separates the ‘Jacks and Michigan State from first and second place on the list of teams with the nation’s best scoring margin. SFA ranks second among 351 NCAA Division I teams with a +16.8 figure while the Spartans are just a tick higher - at +16.9 - to lead the nation in that category.
• With the 2015-16 regular season in the books, the ‘Jacks have been seeing their stock rise steadily in the eyes of the national media throughout the past few weeks. In the latest edition of the AP Top 25 Poll, SFA received nine votes which works out to a spot as the No. 30-ranked team in all of DI men’s basketball.
‘JACKS IN THE SLC TOURNAMENT
• 4 | Stephen F. Austin begins its quest for a fourth-ever Southland Conference Tournament title on Friday evening in Katy, Texas. The ‘Jacks have captured the league’s championship tournament belt and automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament on three occasions in the program’s history - 2009, 2014 and 2015
• 20 | The ‘Jacks have qualified for the Southland Conference Tournament 20 separate times including each of the last 10 years. All-time, SFA has notched a record of 18-16 in SLC Tournament games.
• 10 | After not qualifying for the postseason tournament during its first 10 seasons of existance, the ‘Jacks finally broke through in 1991, but it would take three tries before SFA could capture its first win in the league tourney. Ned Fowler became the first SFA coach to notch a victory in the postseason tournament with a 73-72 win over North Texas in the 1995 quarterfinal round.
• 2003 | Year three of the Danny Kaspar era represented the first time the ‘Jacks made it all the way to the SLC Tournament Finals, but SFA fell in the title bout that season and in the ensuing campaign, too, before finally hoisting the SLC Tournament trophy with a 68-57 win over UTSA in the 2009 SLC Tournament Finals.
• 8 | In the 10-straight years SFA has been in the Southland Conference Tournament, the ‘Jacks have advanced to the semifinals in all but two of those campaigns.
• 2010 | Since 2010, the ‘Jacks have advanced to the Southland Conference Tournament finals in all but two seasons. That run includes a current streak of three-straight finals showings.
• 6 | Of their 20 all-time appearance in the SLC Tournament, the ‘Jacks have entered the tournament fray as the number-one overall seed on six occasions including each of the last four seasons. As the number-one seed, the ‘Jacks are 9-2 with one loss each coming in the semifinal and final round.
• Seniors | The ‘Jacks five-member senior class of Demetrious Floyd, Clide Geffrard, Jared Johnson, Trey Pinkney and Thomas Walkup has notched a 5-1 record in the Southland Conference Tournament. In the three previous seasons with at least one of those members on the ‘Jacks roster, SFA has puched two tickets to the NCAA Tournament and captured on NIT bid.
• Brad Underwood | All the ‘Jacks current head coach has done in the Southland Conference Tournament is win. In four SLC Tournament tilts, SFA’s third-year head coach is 4-0 with those wins coming by an average of 12.8 points. He has only ever faced Northwestern State and Sam Houston State in the SLC Tournament.
• Semifinals | Stephen F. Austin has compiled a 7-5 record in the semifinal round of the Southland Conference Tournament in 19 all-time appearances. Northwestern State is the opponent the ‘Jacks have faced most in the semifinal round as the teams have crossed paths three time in that particular round. Next in line is Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (twice).
• Finals | In seven all-time trips to the Southland Conference Tournament finals, the ‘Jacks are 3-4 with each of those three wins coming in or since the 2009 season.
RECENT SLC TOURNAMENTS
• 2015 | Even though the ‘Jacks suffered their first regular season conference loss in the Brad Underwood coaching era, they were able to shake it off and capture a second-straight trip to the NCAA Tournament by punching their ticket to the dance with an 83-70 win over Sam Houston State in the championship game. Juniors Jared Johnson and Thomas Walkup were named to the SLC All-Tournament Team and Walkup was on the receiving end of SLC Tournament Most Valuable Player laurels for the second time in as many seasons. Walkup’s repeat selection as tournament MVP was the third-such occurrance in the 34-year history of the tourney.
• 2014 | Any plans to stop the ‘Jacks 26-game winning streak in the Southland Conference Tournament were squashed as SFA captured the program’s first SLC Tournament title since 2009 by putting a defensive stranglehold on longtime rival Sam Houston State in the finals. Desmond Haymon and Thomas Walkup were named to the All-Tournament Team with the latter earning the ‘Jacks first Tournament MVP honor since Matt Kingsley accomplished the feat in 2009.
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