MID-SOUTH CONFERENCE MEN'S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT BRACKET RELEASED
MSC Men's Basketball Tournament Bracket
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – Mid-South Conference officials have released the 2022 MSC Men's Basketball Tournament bracket following the conclusion of the conference's regular season.
The 2022 tournament features opening-round games at on-campus sites with the winners of those games joining the top-four seeds in Bowling Green for the remainder of the tournament.
Opening-round games are slated for Tuesday, Feb. 22 at the higher-seeded team. The quarterfinals are scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 26 with the semifinals slated for Sunday, Feb. 27. The championship game is Monday, Feb. 28. The quarterfinals, semifinals, and finals are all played at Bowling Green Arena.
Thomas More (Ky.) is the tournament's top seed after winning the regular season with a 19-2 conference record. As the MSC's regular-season champion, the Saints earn one of the conference's two automatic bids into the NAIA National Tournament in March.
Tennessee Southern (16-6 in the MSC) is the second seed in the tournament while Georgetown (Ky.) (15-7) and Cumberland (Tenn.) are the third and fourth seeds, respectively.
Georgetown received the higher seed based on the conference's first tiebreaker of head-to-head results. The Tigers won both meetings this season with the Phoenix.
Fifth-seeded Cumberlands (Ky.) (13-9) hosts No. 12-seed Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) (4-18) in the first of four opening-round games while sixth-seeded Freed-Hardeman (Tenn.) (13-9) hosts No. 11-seed Bethel (Tenn.) (4-17).
Cumberlands earned the higher seed over Freed-Hardeman based on the conference's second tiebreaker -- the two teams split during the regular season. Cumberlands defeated the higher seeded team in the tournament (the second tiebreaker). The Patriots beat Thomas More during the regular season while Freed-Hardeman did not.
No. 7-seed Shawnee State (Ohio) (10-12) hosts No. 10-seed Life (Ga.) (5-17) while No. 8-seed Pikeville (Ky.) (9-11) hosts ninth-seeded Campbellsville (Ky.) (7-15).
The four opening-round winners advance to the next Saturday's quarterfinals.
The tournament champion receives one of the conference's two automatic bids into the NAIA National Tournament. If Thomas More wins the tournament, the tournament's runner-up receives the second automatic bid.
Bethel and Freed split in the regular season. Bethel won 79-77 in Henderson. The Lions won 79-72 in McKenzie.
Tuesday's game will mark the 80th meeting between the old rivals. FHU has a 41-38 advantage in the series.
Bethel's Jarred Walker enters the tournament with 430 career assists which is 11th in program history. He has 228 career steals which is second best in program history. Walker became a member of the Wildcat 1,000 Point Club earlier this year.
Kamron Rose hit a jumper in the paint in the first half of the UPIKE which put him over the career 1,000-point mark. He has 562 of those in a Wildcat uniform.
Trends & Numbers:
Bethel is 8-0 when they outshoot their opponents.
The Cats are 8-5 when they hit more three-pointers.
The Wildcats are 12-11 when they outrebound their opponents.
Bethel is 8-8 when they have less turnovers.
The Cats are 10-5 when they lead at the half.
Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m.
Live audio:
Catch the action on WEIO, 100.9 and at www.thefarmradio.com
The Countdown to Tip-off Show begins at 5:30 p.m.
Live stats:
https://gofhulions.com/sports/mbkb/2021-22/boxscores/20220222_9d6u.xml
Live video:
https://gofhulions.com/stretch