SAC Tournament
John Brown hosting conference tournament
The best basketball teams in the Sooner Athletic Conference will be on display Friday and Saturday at Bill George Arena on the campus of John Brown University.
JBU will be the host site for the SAC Tournament semifinals on Friday and championship games on Saturday as teams vie for the conference’s automatic berth for the NAIA National Tournament.
“We’re super excited that the conference allowed us this opportunity,” said John Brown athletics director Robyn Daugherty. “Being on the eastern side of the conference, away from most of the conference teams (in the Oklahoma City area), it’s a blessing to have this.”
John Brown hasn’t hosted the SAC Tournament since March of the 201112 season, the second season of Bill George Arena.
The $9.5 million, 1,800seat arena opened at JBU in 2010 and was a big selling point for JBU to host the conference tournament, Daugherty said. The tournament is typically held in the Oklahoma City area.
“I think the fun thing is people like coming here and playing in our arena,” Daugherty said. “That’s the reason why we can host.”
The conference tournament
is under a different format since the last time JBU hosted it.
Back then, all of the teams made the conference tournament, which included play-in games on the first day to get to the bracket play, and the tournament ran from Wednesday through Saturday.
Now only the top eight teams in both the women’s and men’s division advance to the conference tournament, which began on Tuesday. The top four teams in both divisions — women’s and men’s — hosted opening round games on Tuesday with the winners advancing to Bill George Arena for the semifinals on Friday.
Results of Tuesday’s games were not available at presstime. The final schedule of Friday’s semifinals were not determined until after Tuesday’s
games.
The tournament will feature four sessions — two on Friday and two on Saturday.
Session I on Friday will include women’s semifinals games at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m., followed by Session II, which will be men’s semifinals at 6 p.m. and 8 p.m.
Session III will be the women’s championship game on Saturday at 1 p.m., while Session IV will be the men’s championship at 4 p.m.
The arena will be cleared after each session and a ticket must be purchased for each session. No passes will be accepted, but holders of a valid NAIA membership card will be admitted at no charge.
Tickets are $10 for adults, $7 for seniors (60 years old and up) and $7 for students (11-18 years old and/or presenting a valid student ID from any SAC member.)
“It’s some great small college basketball for sure,” Daugherty said. “I’d definitely say for anybody that loves basketball, this is a great opportunity to watch some here locally.”