2026 Southland Conference Basketball Tournament Odds & Predictions

The Southland Conference Tournament has the potential for a real banger of a championship game and the conference format is set up in a way that the conference gets what it wants. We are on a crash course for a Stephen F. Austin vs. McNeese final and the winning team will be a very popular first-round upset pick in the NCAA Tournament. 

Only eight of the 12 teams qualified for the conference tournament to cut the field down a bit. As such, the No. 3 and No. 4 seeds get byes to the quarterfinals and the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds get byes to the semifinals. It just so happens that the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds are dramatically better than anybody else in the conference.

How to Watch the Southland Conference Tournament

When: March 8-11

Where: Townsley Law Arena in Lake Charles, LA (repeat venue for years)

Format: Seeds 5 through 8 play in the first round; No. 3 and No. 4 get byes to the quarterfinals and No. 1 and No. 2 get byes to the semifinals

Watch: ESPN+, ESPNU, ESPN2; Championship Game on ESPN2 on Mar. 11 at 5 p.m. ET

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Southland Conference Tournament Bracket

Southland Conference Tournament Seeds, Teams and Odds

1. Stephen F. Austin (+125)

2. McNeese (+115)

3. UT Rio Grande Valley (+700)

4. Texas A&M Corpus Christi (+1700)

5. New Orleans (+3000)

6. Nicholls (+13000)

7. Northwestern State (+20000)

8. Houston Christian (+30000)

Current Odds

(odds from DraftKings Sportsbook accurate at time of publish)

Favorite To Win Southland Conference Tournament

McNeese is the lower seed, but the favorite here, as Stephen F. Austin is ever so slightly lined higher than them. It might be a little surprising given that UT Rio Grande Valley looks like the third-best team in the conference, both from the odds and their regular season performance. But, this really should come down to the Lumberjacks and the Cowboys.

Both are top-80 teams for Torvik. McNeese is a top-70 team for KenPom and SFA is inside the top 90. UTRGV is in the 120s for Torvik and KenPom and the Vaqueros seem to be on a crash course with the Cowboys, hence the mild eyebrow-raising about the futures odds here. SFA and McNeese split during the regular season with both teams winning at home. The games landed 67-60 and 66-64, so pretty tightly-contested affairs. McNeese was slightly better from an offensive efficiency standpoint and SFA was a little bit better from a defensive efficiency standpoint.

Southland Conference Tournament Darkhorse

The path to the Southland Conference title likely means beating both McNeese and Stephen F. Austin, so a moneyline rollover is undoubtedly going to be better than any of the futures odds because each one of those teams would be such a sizable favorite over the others.

UT Rio Grande Valley was No. 1 in the conference in both 2P% and 3P%, so they can be dangerous. They did split with McNeese, winning 79-76 at home and losing 75-68 on the road, but the Vaqueros did lose both meetings against Stephen F. Austin, scoring just 117 points over two games.

New Orleans split with Stephen F. Austin and has a good path with Houston Christian and then Texas A&M Corpus Christi to get to a matchup with the Lumberjacks, but this line does not present much value.

Betting Pick to Win The Southland Conference Tournament

Anything other than Stephen F. Austin vs. McNeese would be a shocker. Because SFA has the easier path in that UTRGV is clearly the third-best team, there’s some equity in taking them at +125. Based on what KenPom has, McNeese will be favored in the title game. The Lumberjacks are much better at shooting 3s and McNeese actively pushes teams outside, so I think that’s the deciding factor.

Pick: Stephen F. Austin (+125)

Makinen Power Ratings for Southland Conference

  • Teams that have had the advantage of an earlier round bye are on a 26-8 SU and 23-11 ATS (67.6%) surge in the Southland bracket since 2017.
  • The Southland Conference tourney has been a favorite-dominated bracket of late, with small favorites of 4.5 points or fewer doing particularly well, going 29-14 SU and 26-17 ATS (60.5%) since 2014.
  • Higher totaled games of 142 or higher have trended significantly Under of late in the Southland tourney, 24-8 (75%) since 2017.
  • The favorite in the Southland Conference tourney title game is on a 14-3 SU and 11-5-1 ATS (68.8%) run dating back to 2008.

Check out the other previews in our 2026 College Basketball Conference Tournament Betting Guide.

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