| Year: | 2015 |
| Conference: | Southland Conference |
| Division: | I |
| Gender: | Men's |
| Teams: | 8 |
| Arena: | Merrell Center |
| City: | Katy, Texas |
| Champions: | Stephen F. Austin |
| Titlecount: | 3rd |
| Coach: | Brad Underwood |
| Coachcount: | 2nd |
| Mvp: | Thomas Walkup |
| Mvpteam: | Stephen F. Austin |
| Attendance: | 10,526 |
| Television: | SLCDN, ESPN3, ESPN2 |
The 2015 Southland Conference men's basketball tournament, a part of the 2014–15 NCAA Division I men's basketball season, took place March 11–14 at the Merrell Center in Katy, Texas.[1] [2] The winner of the tournament received the Southland Conference's automatic bid to the 2015 NCAA tournament. Two programs in their second year of the transition from NCAA Division II to Division I, Abilene Christian and Incarnate Word, were ineligible for the tournament.[3] [4] Three programs were ineligible for the tournament for failure to meet enhanced NCAA Academic Performance Rating (APR) requirements. Those teams were Central Arkansas, Houston Baptist, and Lamar. The three teams are part of a group of nine NCAA teams ineligible for 2015 post season basketball play.[5] [6] With the departure of Oral Roberts to the Summit League, only eight conference teams remain eligible for the tournament.[7]
Only the top eight teams advanced to the Southland Conference tournament. If a team ineligible for the NCAA Tournament should finish in the top eight, its seed will fall to the next eligible team. Teams were seeded based on conference record and then a tie breaker system was used. The top two seeds received a double bye, and the third and fourth seeds received a single bye.
| Seed | School | Conference | Overall | Tiebreaker |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Stephen F. Austin‡* | 17–1 | 27–4 | |
| 2 | Sam Houston State | 15–3 | 24–7 | |
| 3 | Texas A&M CC | 13–5 | 18–12 | Played one game against Northwestern State. 1–1 vs. Stephen F. Austin |
| 4 | Northwestern St | 13–5 | 18–11 | Played one game against Texas A&M–Corpus Christi. 0–2 vs. Stephen F. Austin |
| 5 | McNeese St | 8–10 | 14–15 | Incarnate Word and Lamar are ineligible. Starting with McNeese St, eligible teams move up. |
| 6 | Nicholls State | 7–11 | 10–18 | Houston Baptist ineligible. Starting with Nicholls State eligible teams move up. |
| 7 | New Orleans | 6–12 | 10–17 | 2–0 vs. SE Louisiana |
| 8 | Southeastern Louisiana | 6–12 | 9–22 | 0–2 vs. New Orleans |
| ‡ Southland Conference regular season champions. * Receives a first-round and second-round bye in the conference tournament. # Receives a first-round bye in the conference tournament. Overall record as of end of regular season. |
| Session | Game | Time* | Matchup# | Score | Television | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First round – Wednesday, March 11 | ||||||
| 1 | 1 | 5:00 pm |
| 62–60 | SLC Digital | |
| 2 | 7:30 pm |
| 82–73 | |||
| Quarterfinals – Thursday, March 12 | ||||||
| 2 | 3 | 5:00pm |
| 96–89 | SLC Digital | |
| 4 | 7:30pm |
| 61–58 | |||
| Semifinals – Friday, March 13 | ||||||
| 3 | 5 | 5:00 pm |
| 91–79 | ESPN3 | |
| 6 | 7:30pm |
| 70–67 | |||
| Championship – Saturday, March 14 | ||||||
| 4 | 7 | 8:30pm |
| 83-70 | ESPN2 | |
| ||||||
Source: [9]
Tournament MVP: Thomas Walkup – Stephen F. Austin
All-Tournament Team: