The fifth seeded Rollins Tars (17-9 9-7 SSC) will take on the fourth seeded Florida Tech Panthers (16-10 9-7 SSC) in the Sunshine State Conference Quarterfinals at Silver Spurs Arena in Kissimmee on Friday afternoon. The contest will be the opener of a four game slate Friday.
The Tars come into the tournament having dropped three straight. Despite the losing skid the Tars are ranked sixth in the latest Region Rankings released on Wednesday. The Tars are come off a hard fought 76-73 loss to co SSC champion Florida Southern at Jenkins Fieldhouse Saturday. Kyle McClanahan led the Tars with 21 points in the defeat. Mitch Woods was a perfect seven for seven from the floor and scored 17 in the contest, while Dave Diakite chipped in 12 points, eight rebounds and four assists.
McClanahan leads the Tars averaging 14 points a game. He is eighth in steals at 1.8 a game and third in the SSC in assists at 4.7 a contest. McClanahan is also in the top three in the league in both field goal percentage (57 percent) and at the free throw line (83 percent.) Diakite averages 12.7 a game and 6.5 rebounds a contest. Adam Allen is one of the most prolific 3-point shooters in the league and scores 10.3 a night.
The Tars average 71.2 points a game (fourth in the SSC) and have the second stingiest defense in the conference (65.9 ppg.) The Tars are 30-29 all-time in the SSC tournament but just 2-4 as the fifth seed. The Tars were much better on the road (7-2) than at home (8-5) on the season. Thursday's game will be the Tars third game at a neutral site this season, they went 2-0 out in Vegas back in December. Rollins won the first meeting of two versus Florida Tech 74-62 on January 9th to give Coach Tom Klusman his 600th career win. McClanahan (19,) Diakite (16) and Brett Chance 15 scored in double figures on that night. The Tars are 3-1 all time against Florida Tech in the SSC tournament.
The Panthers (16-10 9-7 SSC) come into this one red hot. FIT has won nine straight and currently sit eighth in the latest South region rankings (top eight qualify.) FIT is coming off a 55-52 win over Tampa on Saturday. Julius Reid poured in a game high 30 points, while Jermaine Jackson added 11 points and seven rebounds.
Chris Carter and Jackson lead the season box score for the Panthers at 18 a game. Reid scored 15.5 a contest. The Panthers have the second best offense in the league putting up 80.2 points a game. The defense is eighth as they give up 80.5 a game.
The Panthers were a 87-73 winner over the Tars on February 13th. Jermaine Jackson had 20 points, while Reid had 19, nine rebounds and four steals. Carter had 18 and Randy Echols added 10.
The line: FIT by 2.5
Other SSC Lines:
#1 Saint Leo -12 vs #9 Tampa 2:30 PM
#2 Florida Southern -12 vs #7 Barry 5 PM
#3 Eckerd -8 vs #6 Nova Southeastern 7:30 PM
South Region Rankings:
1. Florida Southern
2. Alabama Huntsville
3. Eckerd
4. Saint Leo
5. Benedict
6. Rollins
7. North Alabama
8. Florida Tech
9. Christian Brothers
10. Morehouse
No comments:
Post a Comment