PREVIEW: 2021 SSC Men’s Basketball Tournament Semifinal Matchups
MELBOURNE, Fla. - [
PDF Bracket |
MBB Tournament Page] - The opening round of the Sunshine State Conference Men's Basketball Championship presented by S3 Design will tip-off on Tuesday, March 16th. All games throughout the tournament will be hosted on campus sites and broadcasted by member institutions on the
SSC Digital Network.
No fans are permitted to attend any games in the 2021 Sunshine State Conference Men's and Women's Basketball Championships. All games will be live-streamed at no cost on the Sunshine State Conference Digital Network. You can access the Sunshine State Conference Digital Network by visiting sunshinestateconference.tv or via Apple TV, Android TV, Amazon Fire TV, and Roku by searching "SSC Digital Network." Fans can find more information about the SSC Digital Network
here.
#1 PBA vs. #4 FSC - 6:00 PM [
Watch Live |
Live Stats]
How They Got There:
Seeds for the 2021 tournament were drawn at random. Palm Beach Atlantic University received the No. 1 seed and a first-round bye in the postseason tournament. Florida Southern College defeated #5 seed Rollins College, 88-82, in Lakeland. FSC's Jalyn Hinton scored a game-high 33 points, while teammate EJ Dambreville pulled in a game-high 15 rebounds (
Box).
2020-21: Florida Southern defeated Palm Beach Atlantic in Lakeland on February 20 (92-77) and March 12 (81-65). PBA defeated FSC on February 22 (98-83). Hinton averaged 18.3 points and 9.3 rebounds across the three games. Dan Largey, Jules Jasmin, and Jalen Cooper each led the Sailfish in scoring during the series.
Tournament History:
Palm Beach Atlantic: 3-4 record - 1x runner up
Florida Southern: 78-17 record - 25x champion - 4x runner up
Tournament Series: First Meeting
NOTES: In only four tournament appearances, PBA has reached the finals once (2017) and the semifinals twice (2017, 2020). Florida Southern has won 25 of the 43 SSC Men's Basketball Championships to date (58%). The Moccasins are 78-17 in tournament games (82%) and 25-4 in the title game (86%). The Moccasins have only one title when seeded above #3 (2012 as #5).
#2 Saint Leo vs. #4 Florida Tech - 5:00 PM [
Watch Live |
Live Stats]
How They Got There:
Saint Leo University hosted and defeated #7 seed Barry University, 67-58, on Tuesday evening. SLU's Rusty Moorer led all players with 15 points, while Frank Webb led the Lions with 10 rebounds (
Box). Florida Tech outlasted #6 seed the University of Tampa, 90-84, in double-overtime. Sesan Russell led the Panthers in scoring with 35 points, while Mekhii Noble had a game-high 13 rebounds (
Box).
2020-21: Saint Leo and Florida Tech did not meet during the regular season.
Tournament History:
Saint Leo: 15-33 record - 2x runner up
Florida Tech: 11-31 record - 3x runner up
Tournament Series: 2-0 in favor of Saint Leo
Last Meeting: #9 SLU 77, #8 FT 72 in the 2006 first round
NOTES: FT closed a seven-game losing streak in the SSC postseason tournament with their 2OT win against Tampa. Previously, the Panther's last win came in the 2012 quarterfinals. Florida Tech now looks to close the door on a 20-year semifinal drought. Saint Leo last made it to the tournament final in 2012 and reached the semifinals last in 2014. The Lions and Panthers are both hunting the same prey, their first SSC Tournament title.
Tournament Information:
The 2021 Sunshine State Conference Men's Basketball Championship semifinals will be Thursday, March 18th, finals tip-off on Sunday, March 21st. Both men's and women's semifinals and finals are sponsored by S3 Design and will be hosted at campus sites.
Please contact SSC Assistant Commissioner
Robert Brennecke with any questions or media inquiries.
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