The brackets have been set for the Sun Belt Conference (SBC) Basketball Tournament in Pensacola, Florida. The tournament begins Tuesday.

The Red Wolves women will open the tournament as the 10th seed. Their first game will be against the 7-seed Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns.

Izzy Higginbottom, leading point guard, missed the past three games of the regular season due to a broken finger.

David Stinchcomb, a graduate assistant for media relations said Izzy Higginbottom is “expected to play on March 6”. 

Higginbottom won First Team All-SBC Honors this year. 

The women’s team has been on a slump that was further compounded by the loss of Higginbottom. The women’s basketball team have lost their last six games. 

Guards Wynter Rogers and Lauryn Pendleton have played well, but Higginbottom’s absence has still been felt in the losses.

With Higginbottom set to return, the women’s team will be looking to go on a run in the SBC Tournament and to secure a spot in the NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament. If this happens, it would be their first appearance in program history.

The Red Wolves men’s basketball team will be entering the tournament as the 4th seed, and will not play until the quarterfinals. 

The men’s team entered the tournament having lost their last game to Appalachian State, who is ranked first in the Sun Belt Conference and second amongst all mid-major programs according to CollegeInsider. 

The Red Wolves had won six straight before the Appalachian State game. Point guard Caleb Fields won First Team All-SBC honors and guard Taryn Todd won Third Team All-SBC. The Red Wolves ended the regular season with a record of 16-15.

If the Red Wolves win the tournament, they will be guaranteed a spot in March Madness for the first time since 1999 and only the second time in program history.

The A-State women play their first game Wednesday. The men will begin play in the quarterfinals on Friday.

Categories: Sports