Basketball teams to compete in conference tournament

By Farris Willingham, Staff Writer

Junior Guard Shane Rogers goes for a layup during the game against Northwestern Feb. 21 in the Henry J. Freede Wellness and Activity Center. The Men’s team lost their game 94-79. Photo: Courtney Zanetti/ The Campus

The men’s and women’s basketball teams are preparing for the Sooner Athletic Conference Tournament.

OCU will host the event March 3-5.

The men’s team is ranked eighth place, according to a press release. The women’s team is No. 1 in the conference, Athletic Director Jim Abbott said.

“There are 12 universities in the league,” he said.

A team must rank top eight to qualify for the tournament, Abbott said.

Coach Kevin Morrissey said the men’s team is determined.

“We are planning for our next opponent,” he said.

The difference between fifth and ninth place is two games, so it was hard to predict our placement in the tournament, Morrissey said.

The tournament will begin at 9 a.m. Thursday, he said.

Semi-final games will be played Friday. Finals will conclude the tournament on Saturday.

The winner of the tournament qualifies for the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics Tournament, Morrissey said.

We plan to take it easy before the tournament, said Coach Rob Edmisson.

“We are sitting in first place at conference,” he said. “Some practices will be cut to keep our kids fresh.”

The OCU women’s team is ranked No. 2 in the nation, Edmisson said.

They plan on receiving a national bid for the NAIA tournament.

The last time OCU hosted the SAC tournament was in 2004, Abbott said.

This is a relatively short wait, since the event’s location rotates between the 12 schools in the conference, he said.

OCU is the only school to host the tournament twice in the last eight years.

“There is a lot of preparation before the tournament,” Morrissey said.

Morrissey said he has to film the games, prepare the locker rooms and set up the warms ups.

Officials are looking for volunteers to help with the concessions, providing food for the officials and anything else that comes up.

Senior Point Guard Cesar Cuevas is excited for the tournament.

“I think we’ll do well as long as we make it,” he said.