2013 Men's Basketball Tournament Preview
ST. LOUIS - The field is set for the 2013 St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SLIAC) Men's Basketball Tournament. Spalding University, Eureka College, Westminster College (Mo.) and Webster University will all battle for the tournament crown, as semifinal action kicks off on Friday, February 22. The championship game is slated for this Saturday, February 23.
Top-seeded Spalding will host fourth-seeded Webster at 8:00pm (ET) on Friday. Spalding (18-7) went 15-1 in conference play and won their second regular season conference championship. Webster (14-11) finished 11-5 in league play and was swept by the Golden Eagles in conference action this season.
Eureka is seeded second in this year's Tournament and will play third-seeded Westminster at 6:00pm (ET) on Friday. Eureka (17-8) posted a 12-4 record in the SLIAC this season. Westminster (19-6) also went 12-4 in conference play. The Blue Jays and Red Devils split the regular season series. Eureka won on their home court back on January 10, by a score of 75-74. Westminster then edged out a 67-63 victory over the Red Devils on February 2 in Fulton, Mo.
Spalding will be making their first appearance in the SLIAC Men's Basketball Tournament. The Golden Eagles clinched the top spot and hosting rights for the tournament in only their first year eligible for post-season play.
Eureka is 2-3 in three SLIAC men's basketball tournament appearances. Two of the Red Devils two losses were in the championship game. They lost to Fontbonne, 88-79 in overtime, in 2007. Eureka also lost to Westminster, 74-67, in the championship game in 2010, and in 2012 they lost to the Blue Jays 74-60 in the semifinals.
Westminster is 16-12 in 15 SLIAC men's basketball tournament appearances. The Blue Jays have played for the Tournament Championship in each of the past four years and won the Tournament Championship in 2010 as the #1 seed and in 2012 as the #2 seed. Westminster's other Tournament Championship came in 1995 as the #4 seed with an 82-72 win over MacMurray.
Webster is 6-14 in 15 SLIAC men's basketball tournament appearances, with its first tournament championship in 2011 with a 64-47 victory over Westminster. The Gorloks have played for the tournament championship only twice, including a 65-52 loss to Blackburn College in 2005.
The two semifinal winners will meet for the 2013 SLIAC Tournament Championship on Saturday at 7:00pm (ET). The winner will be crowned tournament champion and earn an automatic qualifying bid to the 2013 NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Tournament. The championship game will also be webcast LIVE by Collegecasts.com. For more information, links, etc., please visit the 2013 SLIAC Tournament webpage.
SLIAC Men's Tournament Bracket:
Semifinals (Feb. 22)
#3-Westminster vs. #2-Eureka, 6:00pm (ET)
#4-Webster at #1-Spalding, 8:00pm (ET)
Championship (Feb. 23)
Semifinal winners, 7:00pm (ET)
