RRAC tourney schedule announced

SAGU teams play at 4pm, 10pm

16 teams merging in the Sheaffer Center on Friday

WAXAHACHIE, Texas -- With the exception of one game remaining tonight (Wed.), the 2012 regular season has been completed in the Red River Athletic Conference. A total of nine teams have racked up 20 or more wins and six are ranked nationally.

As Chicken Express presents the RRAC Conference tournament at Southwestern Assemblies of God University, the top eight men’s and women’s teams convene on the city once to be the home of the Superconducting Super Collider. There will certainly be some powers striking heads in the Sheaffer Center this weekend.

March Madness has arrived in Waxahachie.  (Tourney pairings and schedule posted below)

On Friday, March 2, a total of eight games and sixteen teams will collide on campus, all battling for a berth in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics 32-team national tournament. There will be games every two hours, beginning at 8:00am all the way through a 10:00pm nightcap.

Winners advance to play in four semi-final contests on Saturday afternoon and night. After a day, the men’s and women’s finals are set for Monday evening.

Two teams in both the men’s and women’s leagues will move ahead to the NAIA’s weeklong national playoff, unless they decide on awarding a third team as an at-large entry. This could be the deepest, most-talented collection of teams in the history of the Red River.

While advance tickets are not sold, they will be available at the door for $5.

Fans can also follow the webcast of the play-by-play accounts of all games on-line via Live Stats. Monday’s championship games will be broadcast in HD by SAGU SPORTS Live. Details are posted below.

The live stat links are:
men: http://www.sidearmstats.com/texaswesleyan/mbball/scoreboard.aspx
women: http://www.sidearmstats.com/texaswesleyan/wbball/scoreboard.aspx

HD Livestream at:   www.sagu.edu. Click the Watch SAGUtv button.

Both Southwestern teams will see action in the tourney quarterfinals on Friday.

The Lady Lions (10-20), in a rebuilding year, earned the #8 seed. They will take on Langston University, the #9 ranked team in the NAIA at 4:00pm. Langs.ton has now won six consecutive regular season crowns.

At 28-2, the LU Lady Lions are perennial powers and will present a stiff challenge for SAGU. Three weeks ago, however, Southwestern lost a very respectable 74-63 decision at Langston, Oklahoma.

The #4 seeded SAGU Lions men’s team, at 22-8, is on tap for the 10:00pm finale against Houston’s University of St. Thomas (17-12). Nationally ranked, they split with the Celts during the season, including Monday's 72-55 win in Waxahachie.

Another quarterfinal also pits teams who played on Monday. LSU-Shreveport beat Texas College, 74-50, at home.

Contact: Mark “Link” Warde, Sports Information Director, at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or at 469-658-2847.

Tournament pairings, and the season record in each match-up.

Men’s RRAC Conference Quarterfinals
Friday, March 2
Gm 1:  #3 Texas Wesleyan (23-6)  vs  #6 Wiley College (19-10), 10 a.m. Split 1-1.
Gm 2:  #2 LSU Shreveport (22-7)  vs  #7 Texas College (17-13), 2 p.m. Split 1-1.
Gm 3:  #1 Our Lady of the Lake (24-6)  vs  #8 TBD*, 6 p.m. OLLU swept both, 2-0.
Gm 4:  #4 SW Assemblies of God (22-8)  vs  #5 St. Thomas (17-12), 10 p.m. Split 1-1.

*If Paul Quinn College defeats St. Thomas tonight in Houston, they will enter as the #8 seed. If they lose, Jarvis Christian College qualifies based on their sweep of PQC during the regular season. Langston University had the #8 seed but were disallowed from playing in the tournament.

Semifinals
Saturday, March 3
Semifinal #1, 3 p.m. Winners of Games 1-2
Semifinal #2, 8 p.m. Winners of Games 3-4

Championship Game
Monday, March 5
7:30 p.m.

Women’s RRAC Conference Quarterfinals
Friday, March 2
Gm 1:  #3 Texas Wesleyan (24-6)  vs  #6 Jarvis Christian (15-9), 8 a.m. TexWes 2-0.
Gm 2:  #2 LSU Shreveport (23-7)  vs  #7 Texas College (11-18), Noon. LSUS 2-0.
Gm 3:  #1 Langston (28-2)  vs  #8 SW Assemblies of God (10-20), 4 p.m. LU 2-0.
Gm 4:  #4 Our Lady of the Lake (23-7)  vs  #5 Wiley College (20-9), 8 p.m. Split 1-1.

Semifinals
Saturday, March 3
Semifinal #1, 1 p.m. Winners of Games 1-2
Semifinal #2, 6 p.m. Winners of Games 3-4

Championship Game
Monday, March 5
5 p.m.