BLINN BASKETBALL PLAYOFF GAMES SET FOR REGION XIV TOURNAMENTS

Story by Joe Alberico, Blinn College Sports Information

The Blinn College men’s and women’s basketball teams will begin play in their respective Region 14 Tournaments this week.

Both tournaments will be hosted by Lee College in Baytown, Texas. Twelve teams will make up the men’s bracket, while the women’s bracket will feature eight.

The Buccaneer women (18-12) posted an 8-6 region mark and earned the fourth seed in the eight-team bracket. Blinn is seeded inside the top four for the seventh consecutive season.

The Bucs will meet fifth-seeded Panola College at 3 p.m. on Wednesday. The two teams split two games during the regular season, with each winning at home.

Blinn or Panola will advance to the semifinal round and battle either top-seeded and seventh-ranked Trinity Valley Community College or eighth-seeded Coastal Bend College at 1 p.m. on Friday.

The women’s championship is scheduled for 1 p.m. on Saturday.

The Blinn men finished with a 19-11 overall record and a 13-9 performance in region contests. The Bucs are seeded fourth thanks to a tiebreaker with Panola College. Blinn has a top-four seed for the fourth consecutive year, sharing that feat with top-seeded and fifth-ranked Trinity Valley.

Blinn will get a first-round bye and face either fifth-seeded Panola or 12th-seeded Coastal Bend at 3 p.m. on Thursday. The Bucs finished 2-0 against Coastal Bend and 1-1 against Panola during the regular season.

The men’s semifinal round matchups will be played at 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. on Friday, with the championship set for 4 p.m. on Saturday.

The winners of the regional tournaments will earn an automatic bid for the NJCAA Division I Men’s and NJCAA Division I Women’s Championship tournaments.