ROCK HILL, S.C. --- The Tusculum Pioneers will host the Wingate Bulldogs in a quarterfinal game of the 2023 South Atlantic Conference Men's Basketball Championship this Wednesday night at Pioneer Arena.
It will be the second game of a women's and men's doubleheader. The TU women will host Lenoir-Rhyne at 5:30 p.m. with the men's game slated for 7:30 p.m.
This will mark the fifth consecutive season TU men have hosted a SAC postseason game.
Tusculum (15-10, 11-7 SAC) finished runner-up in the SAC Mountain Division and earned the No. 2 seed for the division. Wingate (15-12, 10-8 SAC) is the third-seed from the SAC Piedmont Division.
Admission to Wednesday's SAC Quarterfinal doubleheader is $8 for adults, $5 for youth ages 6-12 and for seniors age 65 and older, and $5 for active and retired members of the military. College students with valid ID will be admitted for $2. Children ages 5 and under will be admitted free. Gates open at 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday prior to the Tusculum / Lenoir-Rhyne women's quarterfinal.
Tickets are available to purchase on-line at: https://www.tusculumpioneers.com/information/tickets. No cash sales will be permitted at the gate.
Tusculum University students must go on-line to their Hometown Ticketing APP to secure their ticket, which will be covered by the Tusculum athletic department. TU students may also go to the athletic web site and redeem their tickets by using their Student ID number. No complimentary tickets or pass lists will be available (SAC passes issued through Hometown Ticketing will be honored).
Live video, statistics and audio of Wednesday's SAC Quarterfinal doubleheader at Tusculum will be available through links at www.TusculumPioneers.com, with local radio coverage provided through the Pioneer Sports Network on 95.5 FM and 1450 AM (WSMG).
THE REST OF THE TOURNAMENT
Lincoln Memorial and Catawba are the top two seeds in their respective halves of the championship bracket. LMU (26-3, 16-2 SAC), who is ranked 12th in NCAA Division II, won the SAC Mountain Division crown, while Catawba (20-7, 15-3 SAC) won the Piedmont Division title.
Tusculum is the No. 2 seed in the Mountain Division, while Newberry (19-9, 12-6 SAC) is the second-seed in the Piedmont. UVA Wise (17-11, 9-9 SAC) advances to the SAC postseason for the first time as the Highland Cavaliers earn the No. 3 seed in the Mountain Division. Wingate landed at the No. 3 seed in the Piedmont Division.
Rounding out the field with the No. 4 seeds in each division were Limestone (13-15, 8-10 SAC) in the Mountain and Coker (12-16, 6-12 SAC) in the Piedmont. Limestone won the tiebreaker over Carson-Newman (14-14, 8-10 SAC) as both teams were 1-1 head-to-head and 0-2 against LMU. But Limestone went 1-1 against No. 2 seed Tusculum while Carson-Newman was 0-2 against the Pioneers. Coker won the tiebreaker over Lenoir-Rhyne (11-15, 6-12 SAC) and Anderson (9-19, 6-12 SAC) by virtue of its 1-2 record against No. 1 seed Catawba, while L-R and AU were both 0-2 against the Catawba Indians.
The 2023 SAC Men's Basketball Championship quarterfinals will be played at campus sites on Wednesday before moving to Timmons Arena in Greenville, South Carolina for the semifinals and finals on March 4 and 5. The SAC Tournament champion receives an automatic bid to the NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Tournament.
2023 SAC Men's Basketball Championship
Wednesday, March 1, 2023 (Campus Sites at Higher Seeds)
Game 1: #4P Coker at #1M Lincoln Memorial, 7 p.m.
Game 2: #3M UVA Wise at #2P Newberry, 7 p.m.
Game 3: #4M Limestone at #1P Catawba, 7:30 p.m.
Game 4: #3P Wingate at #2M Tusculum, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, March 4, 2023 (Timmons Arena, Greenville, S.C.)
Game 5: winner game 1 vs. winner game 2, 5 p.m.
Game 6: winner game 3 vs. winner game 4, 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, March 5, 2023 (Timmons Arena, Greenville, S.C.)
SAC Championship Game
Game 7: winner game 5 vs. winner game 6, 4 p.m.
