UTSA, McNeese State Both Reach Postseason Play
FRISCO, Texas - UTSA and McNeese State have both reached postseason play. The Roadrunners, which beat McNeese State in the 2011 State Farm Southland Conference Basketball Tournament, are the league's automatic qualifier in the NCAA tournament and will play Alabama State Wednesday at 5:30 p.m., CDT, in the NCAA First Four at UD Arena in Dayton, Ohio. The game will be televised on truTV. The winner will face national No. 1 seed Ohio State in the second-round of the tournament on Friday.
The Cowboys knew they had a postseason appearance locked up after winning the regular-season conference championship. Sunday night, they found out they drew a No. 8 seed in the National Invitation Tournament, but also that they would host Boston College on Tuesday, March 15 at Burton Coliseum in Lake Charles, La. That game, which will tip off at 8 p.m., will be televised by ESPNU.
UTSA Won Southland Tournament
Seventh-seeded UTSA ran through the top three seeds to capture the program's third Southland Conference tournament last week in Katy, Texas. The Roadrunners rallied from a 14-point, second-half deficit to topple No. 2 seed Northwestern State, 97-96, in the quarterfinals behind a triple-double of a career-high 28 points, 10 rebounds and 10 points from senior Devin Gibson. In the 79-70 semifinal victory against No. 2 Sam Houston State, Gibson posted a double-double with 26 points and 11 boards to guide UTSA into the championship game. Southland freshman of the year Jeromie Hill poured in 25 points and Gibson added 15, as the Roadrunners held off a furious rally in the final minutes by top seed McNeese State in a 75-72 win to earn the league's automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament.
Southland's All-Tournament Team
UTSA and McNeese State made up four of the five selections on the all-tournament team. UTSA senior guard Devin Gibson and freshman forward Jeromie Hill were joined on the team by Cowboy teammates Diego Kapelan and Patrick Richard. Sam Houston State forward Gilberto Clavell also earned recognition for the second consecutive season. Gibson averaged 23.3 points, 8.3 rebounds and 6.3 assists in the Roadrunners three games. He got his second triple-double of the season thanks to his 10th assist on Hill's game-winning dunk against Northwestern State in the tournament opener. He scored 28 points and added 10 rebounds. Hill averaged 19.0 points and 5.3 rebounds in the tournament. Richard averaged 14.0 points and 6.3 rebounds and Kapelan averaged 17 points per game. Clavell, who's third-seeded Bearkats were knocked out in the semifinals by UTSA, scored 20 and 22 points in his two tournament games.
McNeese was Regular Season Champion
McNeese State earned an outright regular-season championship on the final day of the regular season in one of the closest conference races in recent memory. The championship marked the Cowboys' sixth overall title and their first since winning back-to-back championships in 2001 and 2002. McNeese made its first appearance in the conference tournament since 2008.
How Close Was the Southland Race?
This year's Southland Conference championship race was one of the closest in recent history. McNeese State won the regular-season crown with an 11-5 mark, but three teams (Northwestern State, Sam Houston State, Texas State) tied for second place at 10-6 and three more (Southeastern Louisiana, Stephen F. Austin, UTSA) tied for fifth, meaning the top seven teams were separated by a mere two games. At 8-8, Nicholls was the final team to qualify for tournament, while Lamar and UT Arlington missed the postseason by just one game at 7-9.
About UTSA
UTSA is 19-13 overall and finished in a three-way tie for fifth with a 9-7 record in the Southland Conference ... the Roadrunners were the No. 7 seed in the conference tournament ... senior guard Gibson, a first-team All-Southland Conference and NABC All-District 23 selection, is the only player in the nation currently averaging at least 16 points (17.0), five rebounds (5.4), five assists (5.6/26th, NCAA) and 2.5 steals (2.7/9th, NCAA) per game ... Gibson has broken UTSA career records for assists (545), steals (318), free throws (635), games played (117) and starts (109) and ranks third in scoring (1,647) and sixth in field goals (462) and rebounds (524) ... Gibson posted his NCAA-leading second triple-double this season with a career-high 28 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists in the conference tournament win over Northwestern State March 9 ... Jeromie Hill, the Southland freshman of the year and an honorable mention all-conference pick, leads all league freshmen in scoring (13.6 ppg), rebounding (6.6 rpg), field-goal percentage (.479) and 3-point field-goal percentage (.412) ... the Roadrunners, which have won five consecutive games, are 12-0 when holding their opponent to less than 40-percent shooting.
UTSA Making Fourth Appearance in NCAA Tournament
UTSA has made three previous appearances in the NCAA tournament in 1988, 1999 and 2004. UTSA captured Southland Conference tournament titles in 1999 and 2004 and moved on to the Big Dance as the 16 seed both times, falling to No. 1 and eventual national champion Connecticut, 91-66, in 1999, in Denver, Colo., and to No. 1 Stanford, 71-45, on March 18, 2004, in Seattle, Wash. The school's first NCAA tournament appearance was in 1988 after it won the Trans America Athletic Conference Tournament to advance as a No. 14 seed , where it fell to No. 3 Illinois, 81-72, on March 18 in Cincinnati, Ohio.
UTSA in the NCAA Tournament
1988 No. 3 Illinois 81, No. 14 UTSA 72
1999 No. 1 Connecticut 91, No. 16 UTSA 66
2004 No. 1 Stanford 71, No. 16 UTSA 45
UTSA vs. Alabama State, SWAC
This will be the first meeting between UTSA and Alabama State, a member of the Southwestern Athletic Conference located in Montgomery, Ala. The Roadrunners are 9-6 all-time against current members of the SWAC (2-3 vs. Grambling State; 0-1 vs. Jackson State; 4-1 vs. Prairie View A&M; 3-1 vs. Texas Southern). The Southland Conference is 3-2 against the SWAC this year with wins over Mississippi Valley State, Southern and Grambling and losses to Grambling and Texas Southern.
Last Year in the NCAA Tournament
Ekpe Udoh did everything Baylor needed to stave off upset-minded Sam Houston State and end a 60-year drought in the NCAA tournament. Udoh had 20 points and 13 rebounds, and Baylor dominated the last three minutes of a 68-59 victory in the first round of the South Regional in New Orleans, La. Udoh also had five assists, two blocks and two steals for the third-seeded Bears. LaceDarius Dunn scored 13 points for Baylor. His short, spinning fade and one-handed jam fueled a late 8-0 run that clinched it.
Sam Houston's Gilberto Clavell was the game's leading scorer with 23 points and Preston Brown added 13 for 14th seed Sam Houston State (25-8), which tied it at 55 on a short floater by Ashton Mitchell with 3:48 to go. The game remained tied until Quincy Acy dunked to put Baylor ahead for good with 2:30 left. Acy and Anthony Jones both finished with 10 points for Baylor. Sam Houston State, normally a strong 3-point shooting team, was undone by misses from long range, going 6-of-31.
Southland NCAA Tournament Tidbits
- The Southland Conference is 10-34 all-time in the NCAA tournament.
- The Southland is looking for its first win in the tournament since 2006 when No. 14 seed Northwestern State stunned No. 3 Iowa, 64-63, in the first round before falling to No. 6 West Virginia 67-54 with a Sweet 16 berth on the line. The Demons also won an opening-round game in 2001, getting by Winthrop before falling to No. 1 seed Illinois, 96-54.
- Prior to this season, Southland teams have been the No. 16 seed only twice since 2002: UTSA in 2004 and UT Arlington in 2008. The Southland AQ has been a No. 14 seed four times and a No. 15 seed three times.
- Prior to that the Southland tournament champion was the No. 16 seed five years in a row between 1997-2001.
- The Southland has not had a team seeded better than 14th since Nicholls State was a No. 13 seed in 1995.
- The best-ever seed by a Southland team was in 1985 when former conference member Louisiana Tech was a No. 5 seed and defeated Pittsburgh and Ohio State to reach the Midwest Regional where it lost, 86-84, in overtime to Oklahoma.
- The current members of the conference are 7-21 in the tournament. Lamar has five wins the NCAA tournament and Northwestern State has two. Five former members were 3-13 as Southland members, including Louisiana Tech, which won three games in 1984 and 1985 with Karl Malone.
Southland vs. NCAA Tournament Field
Eleven Southland Conference teams played 17 non-conference games against 12 teams that are playing in the 2011 NCAA Tournament. The one that didn't play a team in this year's field of 68, is UTSA, the Southland's automatic qualifier for the tournament. What is funny about that is that the Roadrunners were the only Southland team to have a win against the 2010 tournament field, having beaten Houston, which won last year's Conference USA tournament to get into the field. The league did not register a win in any of this year's 17 games against tournament teams, though Texas A&M-Corpus Christi played Memphis to a five-point game (a 68-63 setback) on Dec. 20, and McNeese State played within nine points of Texas A&M on Dec. 31 66-57).
Southland vs. 2011 NCAA Tournament Teams
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Central Arkansas at Missouri
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L, 63-116
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Lamar at Texas
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L, 55-76
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McNeese State at Washington
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L, 64-118
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McNeese State at Texas A&M
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L, 57-66
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Nicholls State at Texas A&M
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L, 55-66
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Northwestern State at Memphis
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L, 79-94
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Sam Houston State at Texas
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L, 50-84
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Southeastern La. at UNLV
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L, 56-92
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Southeastern La. at Vanderbilt
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L, 52-85
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Stephen F. Austin at Texas A&M
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L, 53-62
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UT Arlington at Kansas
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L, 57-82
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Texas A&M-Corpus Christi at Texas A&M
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L, 65-86
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Texas A&M-Corpus Christi at Kansas
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L, 41-82
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Texas A&M-Corpus Christi at Marquette
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L, 50-86
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Texas A&M-Corpus Christi at Memphis
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L, 63-68
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Texas State vs. Long Island
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L, 67-91
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Texas State at Texas
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L, 65-101
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McNeese State Back in the NIT
McNeese State, the regular-season Southland Conference champion is in the National Invitation Tournament for the third time and the first time since the 2001 season. The Cowboys got a first-round home date in the NIT for the second time. In the 1986 NIT, they opened at home with an 86-75 victory before falling 77-61 at Louisiana Tech. In McNeese's most recent NIT berth, it lost 84-74 at UTEP, which is also in this year's NIT field. The Cowboys are 1-2 in the tournament.
McNeese State in the NIT
1986 at McNeese State 85, Dayton 75
at Louisiana Tech 77, McNeese State 61
2001 at UTEP 84, McNeese State 74
McNeese State vs. Boston College, ACC
This will be the first meeting between McNeese State and Boston College, a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference. Boston College enters the tournament with a 20-12 record and finished in a fourth-place tie in the ACC with a 9-7 conference mark. McNeese is 0-2 all-time against the ACC, falling 85-65 at Florida State in coach Dave Simmons first game as the Cowboys' coach in the 2006-07. This year, McNeese lost 79-59 at Miami (Fla.) on Nov. 24. This game will be the first time an ACC school has played on a Southland school's home court.
Southland Returns to NIT
The Southland Conference hasn't had a team in the NIT since Stephen F. Austin in 2008. That season the Lumberjacks won the conference's regular-season championship, but after losing in the semifinals No. 7 seed UT Arlington won the tournament, putting SFA in the tournament. The Southland has had eight teams make 12 appearances in the NIT, but only twice since 1989. In fact, only four current conference members have made an appearance and only two have made multiple appearances. Lamar leads the league with five NIT appearances.
About McNeese State
The Cowboys, the regular-season champions of the Southland Conference, will go into the game with a 21-11 overall record ... this was McNeese's 11th 20-win season in school history ... it is the most wins since going 21-9 in 2001-02 ... the school record for wins is 33 by the 1955-56 squad (33-3) that won the NAIA national title ... this year's McNeese team features a balanced-scoring offense ... four players are scoring in double figures ... Patrick Richard leads with a 15.9 mark while Diego Kapelan is at 15.0, Stephan Martin at 10.4 and P.J. Alawoya at 10.3 ... Alawoya is also the only player in the Southland to average a double-double as he also leads the team with a 10.3 rebounding mark ... this year's Cowboy basketball team came within one victory of tying the school record for consecutive wins at home ... the 2011 team won 14 consecutive games at home before a loss Southeastern Louisiana March 2 ... the Cowboys, who have won six of their last eight games, have made 216 three point goals this season breaking the school record of 194 that was set by the 1991-92.
A Southland Conference First
McNeese State became the first school in Southland Conference history to win regular season championships in men's and women's basketball in the same year. The Cowgirls won just their second conference championship and are the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament. McNeese's other women's conference title was in 1986. The Cowboys earned their sixth regular season championship and first since winning back-to-back titles in 2001 and 2002.
Coach of the Year is McNeese's Simmons
McNeese State fifth-year coach Dave Simmons captured his first coach of the year honor after guiding the Cowboys to an outright regular-season conference championship, its sixth in school history. The regular-season championship is the first for McNeese since winning back-to-back Southland championships in 2001 and 2002. Simmons guided the Cowboys to a 19-10 overall record and 11-5 in Southland play to earn the top seed in this week's conference tournament, which begins Wednesday. Simmons had the Cowboys in the tournament his first two years as coach in 2007 and 2008, but the Cowboys have missed the last two tournaments before securing the top seed in this year's tournament. Simmons is 68-81 in his fifth year in Lake Charles.
Bearkat's Clavell Named Player of the Year
Sam Houston State forward Gilberto Clavell was named the Southland Conference Player of the Year Tuesday. Clavell, a native of Mayaguez, Puerto Rico, scored 603 points in 31 games for an average of 19.5 points per game, which was the second highest total in the conference. The two-time conference player of the week, averaged 19.4 points per game in conference play.
The 6-foot-7 senior is the only junior college transfer to score 1,000 points or more in two years as a Bearkat. The conference's 2010 newcomer of the year has scored 1,166 points in 64 games since transferring to Sam Houston from Collin County Community College. He has scored in double figures 57 times including 29 games with 20 or more points and four with 30 or more.
A five-time player of the week in his two seasons in Huntsville, Clavell's career scoring average of 18.2 points ranks as the third highest at Sam Houston, behind James Lister, the school's all-time scoring leader, who averaged 21.9 points in 1970-73, and Tom Sewell, who posted a 19.6 scoring average from 1952 to 1954. Clavell is the third Sam Houston State student-athlete to earn player of the year honors and the first since Joe Thompson earned the honor in 2005, just two years after Donald Cole became the first Bearkat to win the award in 2003.
UTA's Ingram Named Top Newcomer
UT Arlington forward Bo Ingram was named the Southland Conference Freshman of the Year. Ingram made an immediate impact for the Mavericks and finished the season as the team's leading scorer in conference games at 12.4 points per contest, up from his 11.6 season average. He also averaged 14.2 points per game in the Mavericks' wins. The junior from Kinston, N.C., scored in double figures 17 times including 12 conference games. He scored a career-high 28 points to go along with 10 rebounds in a win at Sam Houston State. Ingram, a transfer from South Plains College, is the first player from UT Arlington to be named the league's newcomer of the year.
Another Roadrunner Named Top Freshman
Jeromie Hill became the third UTSA player to be named the league's freshman of the year in the last four seasons. Hill leads all Southland freshmen in scoring (13.6 points per game), rebounding (6.6 rebounds per game) and field-goal percentage (.479). The native of Cairns, Australia, leads the Roadrunners in rebounding, is second on the team with 42 3-pointers and is third on the team in scoring. Hill has posted three double-doubles and has reached double figures in scoring in 23 games this season, including 11 in league play. UTSA has now had the league's freshman of the year in three of the last four seasons, including Melvin Johnson III last year and Devin Gibson in 2008. This is the first time a school has had back-to-back freshmen of the year since Lamar had consecutive winners in 1984 and 1985.
McNeese State Leads Schools with Three All-League Picks
Player of the Year Gilberto Clavell of Sam Houston State headlines the five players who earned first-team all-conference honors. He was joined on the team by McNeese State guard Patrick Richard, Nicholls State guard Anatoly Bose, Gibson and Stephen F. Austin center Jereal Scott. Bose leads the conference in scoring with 22.1 points per game, a figure that ranks among the top-10 scorers in NCAA Division I. Gibson ranks fourth in the league with 17.0 points per game and is averaging 5.6 assists and 2.7 steals per game to lead the conference, while Richard ranks fifth with 15.9 points per game. Scott ranks 12th with a 13.3 scoring average.
Regular-season champion McNeese State led all universities with three all-conference selections. Northwestern State, Southeastern Louisiana, Stephen F. Austin and Texas State each placed two on the all-conference squads, while four other schools had at least one all-league honoree. A total of six all-conference players were also recognized last season. Bose is a repeat selection on the first team, while Clavell and Gibson earned second-team mention a season ago. Richard, Will Pratt of Northwestern State and Demon Watt of Texas A&M-Corpus Christi earned third-team honors in 2010.
Southland's NCAA Statistical Leaders
Entering the week, Southland Conference teams and individuals own the top marks in all of Division I:
- Stephen F. Austin is the national leader in scoring defense, limiting opponents to 56.7 points per game. The Lumberjacks are the national leader 3-point field goal defense, limiting opponents to just 28.4 percent.
- Northwestern State center William Mosley is the national leader in blocked shots, averaging 4.9 per game. His Demons lead Division I in blocked shots with 7.0 rejections per game.
- UTSA guard Devin Gibson is one of just two players to record a pair of triple-doubles this season. His first was Dec. 20 vs. Samford (17p, 11r, 12a) and his second was March 9 vs. Northwestern State (28p, 10r, 10a) in the quarterfinals of the conference tournament. Xavier's Terrell Holloway also has two.
Southland Among NCAA Top 10
Southland teams and players also rank among the top-10 in these areas entering the week:
- Sam Houston State ranks sixth nationally with 17.4 assists per game. Duquesne is the top Division I program with 18.0 per game.
- Lamar ranks sixth in scoring offense, averaging 82.1 points per game. VMI is the national leader at 87.9 points per game. Texas State ranks 15th (78.3).
- Sam Houston State junior guard Drae Murray ranks sixth in the NCAA with a 2.96 assist-to-turnover ratio. Wisconsin's Jordan Taylor leads the nation with a ratio of 4.2.
- Nicholls ranks eighth nation in turnover margin, benefiting from 4.3 opponent turnovers per contest. Duquesne is the national leader with 7.1 per game.
- UTSA senior guard Devin Gibson ranks eighth among all Division I players with 2.7 steals per game. Anthony Nelson of Niagara is the national leader with 3.4 per game.
- Stephen F. Austin center Jereal Scott ranks ninth in Division I with a 60.0 field goal percentage. The national leader is Kenneth Faried of Morehead State, who is shooting 64.4 percent from the floor. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi's Demon Watt (58.0) is 17th.
- Nicholls senior Anatoly Bose is averaging 22.1 points per game, which ranks ninth nationally. The national leader is Jimmer Fredette of BYU, who is scoring 28.5 points per game.
- The Lumberjacks rank 10th in rebound margin, out-rebounding opponents by 7.3 rebounds per game. Old Dominion averages 12.2 per game to lead the NCAA.
- Northwestern State ranks 10th among Division I teams in steals, averaging 9.2 per game. Duquesne averages 9.8 to lead the nation.