2009 Southland Conference Men's Basketball Tournament

The 2009 Southland Conference Men's Basketball Tournament, a part of the 2008-09 NCAA Division I men's basketball season, will take place March 12–15, 2009 at the Merrell Center in Katy, Texas. The winner of the tournament will receive the Southland Conference's automatic bid to the 2009 NCAA Tournament.

2009 Southland Conference Men's Basketball Tournament
ClassificationDivision I
Season2008–09
Teams8
SiteMerrell Center
Katy, Texas
ChampionsStephen F. Austin (1st title)
Winning coachDanny Kaspar (1st title)
MVPMatt Kingsley (Stephen F. Austin)
TelevisionESPN2

Format

The top nineht eligible men's basketball teams in the Southland Conference receive a berth in the conference tournament. After the conference season, teams are seeded by conference record. The first round match-ups will be as shown below.

Bracket
Quarterfinals
Thursday, March 12 		Semifinals
Friday, March 13 		Finals
Sunday, March 15
         
1 Stephen F. Austin 67
8 SE Louisiana 56
1 Stephen F. Austin 63
4 Texas A&M CC 60
4 Texas A&M CC 79
5 Texas-Arlington 72
1 Stephen F. Austin 68
6 Texas-San Antonio 57
3 Sam Houston State 74
6 Texas-San Antonio 83
6 Texas-San Antonio 57
2 Nicholls State 55
2 Nicholls State 80
7 Texas State 75

All times Eastern.

Championship Game

In the title game, Stephen F. Austin won their first conference title and clinched their first birth to the Division I NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship. Matt Kingsley, a fifth-year senior, led the Lumberjacks with 20 points in the 68–57 win over Texas-San Antonio. Kingsley was named the tournament MVP. The Lumberjacks also got 16 points apiece from Eddie Williams and Josh Alexander.

Devin Gibson led UTSA with a game-high 23 points. While the game was close throughout, SFA never trailed in the first half, and led 37–28 at halftime. They closed the first half on a 20–6 run that culminated with a three-pointer from Walt Harris. Despite Gibson's best efforts, the Roadrunners never got closer than five points behind the second half.

The Lumberjacks became the fifteenth different team to win the Southland Conference Tournament.[1]

References
  1. Championship game recap at Southland.org
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