After one of their best seasons of the last decade, the Southern Utah University women’s basketball team is preparing to push for their second-ever March Madness appearance. To do that, they’ll have to win the Western Athletic Conference Tournament in Las Vegas. They’ll face the University of Texas at Arlington at 3:30 p.m. on Thursday, March 12.
The game will be streamed live on ESPN+.
SUU finished the season with a 19-11 record. They went 11-7 in conference play, losing the last three games of the year but still earning the No. 3 seed in the WAC.
UT Arlington went 4-14 in conference play. Southern Utah beat UT Arlington all three times they faced off this season.
Tournament bracket
Wednesday, March 11: Game One – No. 6 UT Arlington defeats No. 7 Utah Tech
Thursday, March 12: Game Two – No. 4 Utah Valley University vs. No. 5 Tarleton State University, 1 p.m.
Thursday, March 12: Game Three – No. 3 SUU vs. UT Arlington, 3:30 p.m.
Friday, March 13: Game Four – No. 1 California Baptist University vs. Game Two winner, 1 p.m.
Friday, March 13: Game Five – No. 2 Abilene Christian University vs. Game Three winner, 3:30 p.m.
Saturday, March 14: Championship Game – Game Four winner vs. Game Five winner, 1:30 p.m.
The winner of the championship game automatically earns a spot in March Madness. Each game can be streamed live on ESPN+, except for the championship game, which can be streamed live on ESPNU. This article will be updated when matchups are finalized.
SUU’s last March Madness appearances
The T-Birds appeared in the NCAA Tournament during the 2022-23 season, the last time they had this many wins in a season. They went 23-10 that season, while going 16-2 against conference opponents.
That year, in a conference that had 13 teams rather than its current seven, SUU earned the No. 1 seed and had the WAC’s second-best regular-season record. It was the first and only time they earned the No. 1 seed in the WAC.
SUU defeated New Mexico State University, Grand Canyon University and California Baptist to earn a ticket to March Madness. They entered as a No. 14 seed and lost 82-56 to No. 3-seeded University of Notre Dame in the first round.
Before that year, the last time either of SUU’s basketball teams made it to March Madness was in 2001. That year, the men’s team went 25-6 to earn the conference regular-season title. They defeated Valparaiso University in the conference tournament to earn the No. 14 seed in March Madness, but lost 68-65 to No. 3 Boston College.
For more information on end-of-year awards, stat tallies and more, go to the SUU Athletics website or check back here for updates after the tournament.
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Author: Payson Davis
Photographer: SUU Athletics
Editor: Fanny Felixine
