2021 The Sun Conference Tournament Bracket
Quarterfinals
February 23rd
#8 Southeastern @ #1 Warner 7pm ET
#5 Thomas @ #4 St Thomas 7:30pm ET
#6 Coastal Georgia @ #3 Keiser 7:30 ET
#7 Florida Memorial @ #2 Ave Maria 7:30pm ET
Semifinals
February 26th
Finals
League Notes:
The top seed: #23 Warner
NAIA Locks: Clinched: Warner
NAIA Bubble Teams: None
Best chances to win this tournament: Warner, Ave Maria, Keiser
Possible sleeper: St Thomas
KEY PLAYERS:
CoreVon Lott 6’1 – Keiser: 19ppg, 3.8rpg, 2.9apg
CoreVon leads The Sun Conference in scoring this season. His last 3 games, against some of the leagues best, have been spectacular. He had 27 on Warner, 32 on St Thomas and 21 on Ave Maria.
Fernando Salsamendi 6’5 – Ave Maria 17ppg, 7.9rpg
Salsamendi and Klekas have carried this Ave Maria team this year! Salsamendi is so fun to watch! If he has a good tournament this Ave Maria team could find their way to the NAIA National Tournament.
Rod Boggan 6’0 – Warner 17.4ppg, 5.9rpg, 3.3apg
Guards win, especially at tourney time and Rod has been great this season. The 3rd leading scorer in The Sun Conference, but has shown the ability to also be a great passer. The Sophomore will look to lead Warner to a TSC Title sweep!
KEY TEAMS:
#1 Warner – The Regular Season Sun Champs will look to add TSC Tournament Champions to their resume. They have already punched a ticket to the NAIA National Tournament, but now look to improve seeding.
#2 Ave Maria – Jamon Copeland is doing a great job at Ave Maria, he had the Gyrenes in TSC championship all the way until the last week of the regular season. They compete hard and will be a factor in this tournament.
#3 Keiser – New Head Coach Cheif Bryant has his guys playing their best basketball of the season right now. They enter the tournament winners of 5 of their last 6 games. With wins over both Ave Maria and Warner.
UPSET SPECIAL:
#4 St Thomas – Again, winning from the 4 seed isn’t a huge upset, but this Bobcat team has the ability to go on a run here in the tournament as they have in past years.
Opening Round Game Notes:
#8 Southeastern @ #1 Warner 7pm ET
Warner 3-0
Warner is 3-0 on the season against TSC Preseason favorite Southeastern. The Fire lost Riley Minix at the semester break and haven’t been the same since. Warner is fresh off of their regular season TSC Title. Even with qualifying for the National Tournament already, they still have the ability to increase their seeding.
#5 Thomas @ #4 St Thomas 7:30pm ET
St Thomas 2-0
These two teams have payed twice this month already. No game though is as big as this one tonight with their seasons on the line. St Thomas has had Thomas Universities number through the first two meetings. Two teams who will be no stranger to one another, we will see what adjustments are made for tonight’s game.
#6 Coastal Georgia @ #3 Keiser 7:30 ET
Season Series tied 1-1
In the latest game between the two teams, Keiser blew up and won by 23 points. You expect this game to be closer than that, but this Keiser team is also playing really well right now!
#7 Florida Memorial @ #2 Ave Maria 7:30pm ET
Ave Maria 3-0
Ave swept Florida Memorial in the regular season, going 3-0. They are entering the tournament on a 2 game losing streak though. This Florida Memorial team is huge. Putting lineups together that have 3 guys 6’10 or taller on the floor at the same time. Ave has handled business in this matchup so far this year though.
OTHER NOTES:
The Sun Conference Tournament Page
The Sun Conference has (2) auto-bids: The TSC Regular Season Champ: Warner and TSC Tournament Champ/2nd place regular season if Warner wins tournament as well.
Best Opening Round Matchup: #6 Coastal Georgia vs #3 Keiser.
Our Pick To Win It: Keiser – We love the way this team is playing right now. Coach Bryant has the Eagles playing with a lot of confidence right now. Pair that with TSC leading scorer CoreVon Lott and you have a team that is ready to strike gold!
