LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. -- The SCAC office today announced the men's and women's brackets for the 2020 basketball tournament, which will be begin Friday, Feb. 28 in Kerrville, Texas on the campus of Schreiner University. Men's Tournament Bracket | Women's Tournament Bracket | Official Tournament Website | Week 15 Men's Basketball Release | Week 15 Women's Basketball Release
*The seeds for this year's men's tournament are as follows:
1) Centenary (13-5 SCAC; 16-9 overall)
2) Austin College (11-7 SCAC; 14-10 overall)
3) Texas Lutheran (11-7 SCAC; 14-11 overall)
4) Schreiner (8-10 SCAC; 10-15 overall)
5) Trinity (8-10 SCAC; 10-15 overall)
6) Southwestern (8-10 SCAC; 12-13 overall)
*The seeds for this year's women's tournament are as follows:
1) Trinity (17-1 SCAC; 22-3 overall)
2) Austin College (14-4 SCAC; 21-3 overall)
3) Colorado College (10-8 SCAC; 14-11 overall)
4) Schreiner (10-8 SCAC; 12-13 overall)
5) Texas Lutheran (9-9 overall; 11-14 overall)
6) Southwestern (8-10 overall; 10-15 overall)
*Johnson & Wales and St. Thomas, who are both NCAA Division III provisional members, are not yet eligible for the SCAC tournament.
On the men's side, this year marks the first time in program history that Centenary College (13-5 SCAC) has earned the No. 1 seed for the conference postseason tournament. The Gents have drawn a bye as the No. 2 seed on three different occasions, most recently at the 2018 tournment, and made it to the title game each of those appearances.
Austin College and Texas Lutheran University both tied with 11-7 conference marks, but by virtue of its head-to-head sweep in this year's two contests, the 'Roos will get the second bye as the No. 2 seed, leaving the Bulldogs to settle for the No. 3 seed.
There was a four-way tie for the final three tournament slots as University of Dallas, Schreiner University, Southwestern University and Trinity University each finished with 8-10 league marks.
Schreiner earned the initial tiebreaker edge and the No. 4 seed in the tournament by virtue of its better cumulative head-to-head mark against the other three. The Mountaineers were a combined 4-2 against Dallas, Southwestern and Trinity, which bested Dallas' and Southwestern's combined 3-3 record and Trinity's 2-4 mark.
Once Schreiner was pulled from the group, the tiebreaker reverted to head-to-head results among the remaining tied teams. In this case, that would be Dallas, Southwestern and Trinity and those three all went 1-1 against each other. The next tiebreaker requires comparing records against top teams in descending order. Running down the standings, all three went 0-2 against St. Thomas but when comparing results against Centenary, Trinity posted a 1-1 mark while both Dallas and Southwestern went 0-2. Therefore, Trinity earned the No. 5 seed - leaving Dallas and Southwestern remaining to determine the sixth and final seed for the tournament.
As previously stated, head-to-head results (1-1) doesn't break the tie between Dallas and Southwestern – therefore, differentiation is determined by once again working down the standings. Both went 0-2 against both St. Thomas and Centenary. However, Southwestern split its two games against Austin College while Dallas was swept by the 'Roos - giving the Pirates the No. 6 seed to next weekend's tournament.
Men's quarterfinal action gets underway at Noon CT Friday afternoon.
For the Trinity University women, this year's tournament represents the fifth consecutive year they have been the #1 seed. And over that span, the Tigers have won the SCAC title three of the last four years, with last year's 68-62 loss to Texas Lutheran on the Bulldogs' home floor being the program's only blemish over that span.
The only tiebreaker needed to seed this year's women's tournament occured for the third and fourth between Colorado College and Schreiner University, who both finished 10-8. Colorado College held the 2-0 season sweep over the Mountaineers, therefore giving the CC Tigers the nod for the No. 3 seed.
Women's quarterfinal action gets underway at 5 p.m. CT Friday evening.
Friday - Quarterfinals at Schreiner University
Men's Game 1 - Noon CT - #4 Schreiner vs. #5 Trinity
Men's Game 2 - 2 p.m. CT - #3 Texas Lutheran vs. #6 Southwestern
Women's Game 1 - 5 p.m. CT - #4 Schreiner vs. #5 Texas Lutheran
Women's Game 2 - 7 p.m. CT - #3 Colorado College vs. #6 Southwestern
Saturday - Semifinals at Schreiner University
Men's Game 3 - Noon CT - #1 Centenary vs. Winner of Men's G1
Men's Game 4 - 2 p.m. CT - #2 Austin College vs. Winner of Men's G2
Women's Game 3 - 5 p.m. CT - #1 Trinity vs. Winner of Women's G1
Women's Game 4 - 7 p.m. CT - #2 Austin College vs. Winner of Women's G2
Sunday - Finals at Schreiner University
Men's Game 5 - Noon CT - Winner of Men's G3 vs. Winner of Men's G4
Women's Game 5 - 2 p.m. CT - Winner of Women's G3 vs. Winner of Women's G4
For more information on the 2020 SCAC Men's and Women's Basketball Tournament, click here for the official website.
