MELBOURNE, Fla. - [PDF Bracket | Championship Central] - The 2017 Sunshine State Conference Men’s Basketball Tournament is set to begin Wednesday, March 1st. All quarterfinal games will be hosted and broadcasted by SSC member institutions.
Tournament semifinals and finals will be hosted by Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University at the ICI Center in Daytona Beach.
Quarterfinal #1 | Location: Miami Shores | Time: 7:00 PM
No. 1 seed Barry University (21-5, 13-5) will host #8 seed Florida Tech (15-13, 7-11)
Barry ended a three-game losing streak by defeating Florida Southern, 98-88, this past Wednesday. The victory gives Barry the No. 1 seed to the SSC tournament and the program’s third SSC regular season championship, second consecutive.
Florida Tech falls to the No. 8 seed after a loss to Palm Beach Atlantic University in the regular season finale. The Panthers ended February with a record of 4-4 including three wins in their last four contests.
Barry took the season series from Florida Tech, 2-0. The Buccaneers first defeated the Panthers, 96-84, in Melbourne on November 19. Barry then won at home, 103-78, on January 25th in Miami Shores. BU’s Adrian Gonzalez averaged 24.5 points in the season series, while FIT’s Jordan Majors averaged 23.0 points and 4.5 assists.
Quarterfinal #2 | Location: West Palm Beach | Time: 7:00 PM
No. 4 seed Palm Beach Atlantic University (14-12, 10-8) will host No. 5 seed University of Tampa (17-11, 10-8).
Palm Beach Atlantic collects the No. 4 seed in the university’s first appearance in an SSC postseason basketball tournament. The Sailfish cap a 5-2 February with an 80-76 road win over Florida Tech. The victory helped secure PBA a home court advantage.
Tampa settles into the No. 5 seed following a 87-64 win over Lynn to round out the regular season. The Spartans tied with PBA in the standings but lost the season series tiebreaker. UT has won three of their last five conference games, including a contest at No. 1 seeded Barry University.
Palm Beach Atlantic won at Tampa, 82-73, on November 30th. The Sailfish were again victorious over the Spartans, 72-62, on January 21st in West Palm Beach. PBA’s Bakari Warthen averaged 13.5 points and 9.0 rebounds in the season series, while UT’s Duke Shelton recorded a double-double in each game (12 pts/11 reb; 16 pts/10 reb).
Quarterfinal #3 | Location: St. Petersburg | Time: 7:30 PM
No. 2 seed Eckerd College (20-7, 13-5) will host No. 7 seed Florida Southern College (11-17, 8-10).
Eckerd ended the season tied with Barry University at 13-5 in conference play, but lost the head-to-head tiebreaker and falls to the No. 2 seed. The Tritons have won seven of their last 10 ball games and boast a 6-1 record in the month of February.
Florida Southern earns the No. 7 seed after a 8-10 conference record and losing a tiebreaker with Lynn University. The Moccasins have dropped their last four ball games and sport a 3-5 record in February.
Florida Southern defeated Eckerd, 87-79, on January 14th in Lakeland. The Triton evened the season series with a 98-82 win over the Moccasins in St. Petersburg on February 25th. EC’s Drushaun McLaurn averaged 23.0 points and 7.0 rebounds in the two meetings. FSC’s Jack Rauch secured a triple double in the first contest between the programs (14 points, 13 rebounds, 11 assists).
Quarterfinal #4 | Location: Winter Park | Time: 7:30 PM
No. 3 seed Rollins College (18-10, 12-6) will host No. 6 seed Lynn University (13-13, 8-10).
Rollins grabs the No. 3 seed after finishing the season winning 10 of 12 games. The Tars concluded the regular-season with a 82-74 win against Saint Leo University, marking the program’s fifth consecutive win.
Lynn is granted the No. 6 seed following a 8-10 effort in SSC play. The Fighting Knights found themselves tied in the standings with Florida Southern College but won the head-to-head tiebreaker for the higher seed. Lynn won three of seven games played in February with two wins coming on the road.
The Tars topped the Fighting Knights, 73-71, in Winter Park on January 18th. Rollins won again over Lynn on February 11th in Boca Raton, 92-80. In the latest meeting between the programs, four Fighting Knights scored in double figures and Conner Mckim led the Tars with 27 points.
Tournament Information:
Higher seeds will host during the quarterfinal rounds in the 2017 Sunshine State Conference Men's & Women's Basketball Championships. Semifinals and finals will be held at the
ICI Center on the campus of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach.
Both tournaments return to the ICI Center from 2016 after three years at the Silver Spurs Arena in Kissimmee. Prior to Silver Spurs Arena, the tournaments were held at member institutions from 2002 to 2012. SSC tournament play begins on Wednesday, March 1st and concludes on Sunday, March 5th.
Please contact SSC Assistant Commissioner Robert Brennecke with any questions or media inquiries.
About ESPN3 / WatchESPN
ESPN3 is ESPN’s live multiscreen sports network, a destination that delivers thousands of exclusive sports events annually. It is accessible on computers, smartphones, tablets and connected devices through WatchESPN and the ESPN app. The network is currently available nationwide at no additional cost to fans who receive their high-speed Internet connection or video subscription from an affiliated service provider. It is also available at no cost to U.S. college students and U.S.-based military personnel via computers, smartphones and tablets connected to on-campus educational and on-base military broadband and Wi-Fi networks.
