Men’s Hoops opens playoffs Saturday at Perk
PERKINSTON — Mississippi Gulf Coast will start its journey in the NJCAA Region 23 Men's Basketball Tournament in the friendly confines of Dantzler Arena on Saturday.
The Bulldogs earned the No. 4 seed in the tourney and will host a quarterfinal against the winner of Thursday's Holmes-Hinds game. Tipoff is scheduled for 3 p.m., after completion of the Gulf Coast women's basketball game.
Gulf Coast finished the regular season 23-6 overall, and the 10-4 MACCC mark put the team in a three-way tie in the conference.
Four first-round games will be played Thursday, with the higher seed hosting. The top four seeds will host the quarterfinals, to be played Saturday. Hinds travels to Holmes for a 6:30 tip in Goodman.
Itawamba won the MACCC championship and will host the semifinals and finals, unless it is upset in the quarterfinals. The highest remaining seed would host, in that case.
The 12 teams in the field include 11 from the MACCC and the Louisiana Community College Athletic Conference champion, which is seeded according to its Massey Rating in relation to the Mississippi schools. Southern-Shreveport won that championship and had the 12th-highest rating among the schools, but the Louisiana champ is guaranteed at least a ninth-seed.
The winner of the Region 23 Tournament advances to the NJCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship in Hutchinson, Kan., on March 21-28.
NJCAA Region 23 Men's Basketball Tournament
March 5-13
First Round
Thursday, March 5
No. 9 Southern-Shreveport at No. 8 Northwest Mississippi, 6 p.m.
No. 12 Hinds at No. 5 Holmes, 6:30 p.m.
No. 10 Northeast Mississippi at No. 7 Coahoma, 7:30 p.m.
No. 11 Copiah-Lincoln at No. 6 Pearl River, 6:30 p.m.
Quarterfinals
Saturday, March 7
Northwest/Southern-Shreveport winner at No. 1 Itawamba, 4 p.m.
Holmes-Hinds winner at No. 4 Gulf Coast, 3 p.m.
Northeast-Coahoma winner at No. 2 Southwest Mississippi, TBA
Co-Lin/Pearl River winner at No. 3 Jones, 6 p.m.
Semifinals
Tuesday, March 10
At Fulton (or highest seed remaining)
Finals
Friday, March 12
At Fulton (or highest seed remaining)
For more information on MGCCC's 12 intercollegiate athletic teams, follow @MGCCCBulldogs on Twitter and MGCCCBulldogs on Facebook, and go to mgcccbulldogs.com.
