Southland Basketball: 2020 conference tournament preview, predictions

Southland Basketball: 2020 conference tournament preview and predictions

DALLAS, TX - MARCH 15: Kevon Harris #1 of the Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks celebrates against the Texas Tech Red Raiders in the first half in the first round of the 2018 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at American Airlines Center on March 15, 2018 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images) /

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HONOLULU, HI – DECEMBER 23: The Stephen F. Austin bench (Photo by Darryl Oumi/Getty Images) /

Stephen F. Austin has dominated Southland Basketball all season, will they be able to finish it off by winning the conference tournament? Here is a preview of the Southland Conference Tournament.

After a brief hiatus, and not qualifying for the conference tournament last season, the team that has won four of the last six Southland Basketball tournament titles is back to dominating the league again, the Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks.

Whether if it was with Brad Underwood or current head coach Kyle Keller, the Lumberjacks have been the cream of the crop in the conference since 2014, and this season was no different, with them winning the league title by four games over last season’s tournament champion Abilene Christian. Stephen F. Austin proved their might, not only in the Southland but also going into Cameron Indoor Stadium and knocking off No. 1 Duke in one of the most memorable games of the season.

Behind the top seed, things didn’t become clear until the final days of the regular season. Only eight of the conference’s 12 teams qualify for the tournament and this year there were basically eight teams fighting it out for the seven remaining spots.

Last year’s champion Abilene Christian (20-11, 15-5) finished in second ahead of Nicholls State (21-10, 15-5), but after that, things got messy. With just one game separating the teams that finished fifth through eighth, the final day of the regular season became critical.

In the end, Sam Houston State (18-13, 11-9) beat out Northwestern State (14-15, 11-9), while Lamar, McNeese State and Texas A&M Corpus-Christi finished sixth through eighth respectively, but tied with a 10-10 league mark. Stephen F. Austin is the league’s clear favorite, after that, you can flip a coin.