Comin' in hot! Stetson, Embry-Riddle men's, women's basketball in conference tourneys this week
The Stetson men's basketball team isn't exactly hitting the postseason running, not after a regular-season-closing 78-59 loss at North Florida last Friday.
But it's tournament time and despite the late setback, the Hatters find themselves in a great spot in their attempt to make history.
Stetson enters ASUN Tournament play as the No. 2 seed and still looks for its first conference championship and first NCAA Tournament berth. The Hatters have played in the CBI twice, making up the entirety of their postseason history.
Now 19-12 overall and 11-5 in the ASUN, Stetson won eight of its final 11 games to earn the right to host its first two conference tournament tilts. The ASUN Tournament starts Monday night with a pair of play-in games as 10th-seeded Jacksonville travels to No. 9 Kennesaw State and No. 7 Florida Gulf Coast hosts No. 8 Queens. Stetson will get the FGC-Queens winner at 7 p.m. Tuesday in DeLand.
ASUN FINALE: North Florida rebounds to rout Stetson, gaining momentum for next week's ASUN tournament
Stetson isn't the only area team to get its postseason journey started this week. Both the Embry-Riddle men's and women's teams are set for quarterfinal matchups Tuesday in the NCAA Division II Sunshine State Conference, with Stetson's women's team slated to start ASUN tournament play Saturday.
Meanwhile, Bethune-Cookman's men's and women's teams won't begin their runs in the SWAC Tournament until next week. Daytona State's squads were set to conclude their regular seasons Monday night with the FCSAA/NJCAA Region 8 championships slated to start on March 13.
Here's a look at the schedule for Stetson and Embry-Riddle this week.
Stetson men's basketball
Record: 19-12 overall, 11-5 ASUN
Tournament seed: No. 2
ASUN quarterfinal: 7 p.m. Tuesday vs. FGCU/Queens winner
Key players: Jalen Blackmon (21.1 points per game, 103 made 3-pointers); Stephan Swenson (13.1 points, 6 assists per game); Aubin Gateretse (11.1 points, 7.7 rebounds per game).
Buzz: While Queens and Florida Gulf Coast are the No. 8 and No. 7 seed respectively, the Hatters split the season series with each. That included a 24-point drubbing by the Eagles in Fort Myers in January. Stetson guard Stephan Swenson recently became the school's all-time assists leader and crossed the 1,000-point mark for his career. Jalen Blackmon is the country's 14th-leading scorer at 21 points per game and is one of only eight players nationally with 100 or more 3-pointers this season.
ASUN men's basketball tournament schedule
All games at higher seed
Monday's games: No. 10 Jacksonville 92, No. 9 Kennesaw State 86; No. 8 Queens 69, No. 7 Florida Gulf Coast 63
Tuesday's games: No. 10 Jacksonville 67, No. 1 Eastern Kentucky 65; No. 2 Stetson 83, No. 8 Queens 71; No. 6 North Alabama 77, No. 3 Lipscomb 75; No. 4 Austin Peay 101, No. 5 North Florida 98
Thursday's games (Times TBD): Jacksonville at Stetson; North Alabama at Austin Peay
Sunday's game: Championship game, Time TBD
Stetson women's basketball
Record: 17-13 overall, 12-4 ASUN
Tournament seed: No. 2
ASUN quarterfinal: 6 p.m. on Saturday vs. Austin Peay/Kennesaw State winner
Key players: Jamiya Turner (11.1 points, 5.4 rebounds per game); Khamya McNeal (9.6 points, 35 made 3-pointers); Jaelyn Talley (8.7 points, 6.3 rebounds per game)
Buzz: It hasn't always been pretty, but lately, it's been effective. Like the men's team, the women's squad finished hot, going 10-2 down the stretch despite finishing last in the ASUN in scoring offense (58.6 points per game), 3-point percentage (23%) and free-throw percentage (65.4%). The Hatters negate those offensive deficiencies with defensive tenacity, finishing second in the league and 39th nationally in field goal percentage allowed (37.1%). The Hatters split the regular-season series with Kennesaw State and defeated Austin Peay 51-42 in the teams' only matchup.
ASUN women's basketball tournament schedule
All games at higher seed
Friday's games: No. 10 Bellarmine at No. 9 Jacksonville, 6 p.m.; No. 8 Kennesaw State at No. 7 Austin Peay, 6 p.m.
Saturday's games: Bellarmine/Jacksonville winner at No. 1 Florida Gulf Coast, 6 p.m.; Kennesaw/Austin Peay winner at No. 2 Stetson, 6 p.m.; No. 6 North Alabama at No. 3 Central Arkansas, 7 p.m.; No. 5 Eastern Kentucky at No. 4 Lipscomb, 4 p.m.
Tuesday, March 12 (Times TBD): Lowest remaining seed at highest remaining seed; Second-lowest remaining seed at second-highest remaining seed
Saturday, March 16: Championship game, TBD
Embry-Riddle men's basketball
Record: 20-8 overall, 14-6 in the D-II Sunshine State Conference
Tournament seed: No. 3
Sunshine State Conference quarterfinal: 7:30 p.m. Tuesday vs. Florida Tech
Key players: Malcolm Whitlow (15.9 points per game); Dru Nickson (12.5 points, 4 assists per game); Michael McCalister (11.4 points, 5.3 rebounds per game)
Buzz: Keeping up with the trend, the Eagles won nine of their last 10 games including sweeping the final six to earn the league's No. 3 seed and a first-round home game. ERAU is just outside the national top 20 in scoring offense (86.7 points per game) and has scored 87 or more points nine times in its last 13 games. That includes a deadly attack from deep where the Eagles shoot 39.2% from 3, 13th-best in the country with 285 makes, 11th most. The Eagles swept the season series from Florida Tech with the first win coming at home in overtime.
Sunshine State Conference men's basketball tournament schedule
All games at higher seed
Tuesday's games: No. 8 Eckerd at No. 1 Nova Southeastern, 7:30 p.m.; No. 5 Palm Beach Atlantic at No. 4 Lynn, 7 p.m.; No. 7 Barry at No. 2 Florida Southern, 7 p.m.; No. 6 Florida Tech at No. 3 Embry-Riddle, 7:30 p.m.
Thursday's games (Times TBD): Eckerd/Nova winner vs. Palm Beach/Lynn winner; Barry/Florida Southern winner vs. Florida Tech/ERAU winner
Sunday's game: Championship, TBD
Embry-Riddle women's basketball
Record: 19-8 overall, 13-7 Sunshine State Conference
Tournament seed: No. 3
Sunshine State Conference quarterfinal: 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday vs. Lynn
Key players: Madyson Jean-Louis (16 points per game, 45.1% 3-point percentage); Jenna Teterycz (7.6 points per game, 50.6% field goal percentage)
Buzz: After a six-game win streak in January, the Eagles hung on down the stretch, going 5-5 over their final 10 contests. ERAU has had to learn to live without Keturah Balabyekkubo, the team's most imposing inside presence, who tore her Achilles after 12 games. She averaged 10.9 points and a team-leading 5.3 rebounds per game. Embry-Riddle is 21st nationally in field goal percentage (44.8%). Madyson Jean-Louis is making 45.1% of her 3-point attempts. The Eagles lost by 10 at Lynn (68-58) to close the season after picking up a 14-point victory over the Fighting Knights at home in December.
Sunshine State Conference women's basketball schedule
All games at higher seed
Tuesday's games: No. 8 Florida Southern at No. 1 Nova Southeastern, 5:30 p.m.; No. 5 Rollins at No. 4 Eckerd, 7 p.m.; No. 7 Palm Beach Atlantic at No. 2 Tampa, 7 p.m.; No. 6 Lynn at No. 3 Embry-Riddle, 5:30 p.m.
Thursday's games: Florida Southern/Nova winner vs. Rollins/Eckerd winner, TBD; Palm Beach/Tampa winner vs. Lynn/ERAU winner, TBD
Sunday's game: Championship game, TBD
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Stetson, Embry-Riddle set for men's, women's basketball tournaments
