ROCK HILL, S.C. --- Tusculum University has earned the No. 2 seed in the 2021 Pilot / Flying J South Atlantic Conference Basketball Championship.
The Pioneers posted a 12-4 overall and league record, along with a .750 won-loss percentage during this pandemic-abbreviated season. The seedings for this year's tournament are based on league winning percentage, regardless of the total number of SAC games played.
Lincoln Memorial finished with a league-best 14-3 record and in doing so con the regular-season title. However, in compliance with the SAC Return to Play Protocol for Basketball, the Railsplitters will not be able to complete in the 2021 SAC Tournament due to the team pausing team activities due to COVID protocols.
With LMU out, Queens will be the top seed after finishing with a 13-3 conference record. Tusculum is the second seed, while Carson-Newman will be third at 11-5. Also receiving a bye into the quarterfinal round will be the No. 4 seed Newberry (9-5) and No. 5 seed Lenoir-Rhyne (8-6).
Wingate is the No. 6 seed with a 10-8 SAC record, followed by No. 7 Catawba (8-10), No. 8 Anderson (6-11), No. 9 Coker (4-11), No. 10 Limestone (2-10) and No. 11 Mars Hill (2-15).
Like LMU, UVA Wise will be unable to compete in the SAC Tournament as they are adhering to the minimum outlined protocols within the SAC Return to Play Protocols for Basketball.
The SAC Tournament will be played at campus sites throughout the tournament with opening round action beginning this Saturday (Feb. 27), followed by quarterfinals this Monday (Mar. 1). The semifinals will be played next Thursday (Mar. 4) with the championship game being contested on Sunday, March 7. The winner of the SAC Pilot Flying J Tournament will receive the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Division II Tournament.
Tusculum will host a SAC Quarterfinal game on Monday at 7:30 p.m. and will face the winner of Saturday's opening round match-up between Catawba and Limestone. TU defeated Catawba 74-72 last month on Trenton Gibson's buzzer-beating three-pointer. The Pioneers lost at Limestone 68-61 in January in the only meeting this year with the Saints.
Tusculum has qualified for the quarterfinal round in each of the last three seasons and advanced to the SAC semifinal last year. Tusculum's lone SAC Tournament title came in 2005.
2021 SAC Pilot Flying J Men's Basketball Tournament
Saturday, February 27, 2021
SAC Opening Round (at higher seeds)
Game 1: No. 9 Coker at No. 8 Anderson, 4 p.m.
Game 2: No. 10 Limestone at No. 7 Catawba, 4 p.m.
Game 3: No. 11 Mars Hill at No. 6 Wingate, 2 p.m.
Monday, March 1, 2021
SAC Quarterfinal (at higher seeds)
Game 4: No. 5 Lenoir-Rhyne at No. 4 Newberry, TBA
Game 5: Coker/Anderson at No. 1 Queens, TBA
Game 6: Limestone/Catawba at No. 2 Tusculum, 7:30 p.m.
Game 7: Mars Hill/Wingate at No. 3 Carson-Newman, TBA
Thursday, March 4, 2021
SAC Semifinal (at higher seeds)
Game 8: Game 4 winner vs Game 5 winner, TBA
Game 9: Game 6 winner vs Game 7 winner, TBA
Sunday, March 7, 2021
SAC Championship (at higher seeds)
Game 10: Game 8 winner vs Game 9 winner, TBA
