The Colorado College men's basketball team enters this weekend as the No. 4 seed in the 2024 Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament after ending the regular season with a 14-11 record, the best mark since the 2015-16 season.
CC will face off against the No. 5 seeded University of Dallas for the second game in a row. Tip-off for the quarterfinal matchup is on Friday, Feb. 24 at 11 a.m. MT in Shreveport, LA. Centenary College is the host of this year's tournament.
Last Time Out
CC split the final weekend of the regular season, winning against Austin College 78-54 on Friday, Feb. 16, but then losing a close 82-87 battle to Dallas the following Sunday. Junior
Edgar Romero dropped a season-high 20 points after going 5-5 from three-point range.
The Tigers finished the game 44.4 percent from long range, and the win was tied for their largest margin of victory this season.
CC fell to Dallas on Sunday despite four players scoring in double digits.
Dinari Boykin led the way with 16 points, four rebounds, a steal and an assist.
Scott Ruegg added 13 points and six boards.
Don't Let The Tigers Get Hot
CC enters the weekend, winning seven of their last 11 contests, including a five-game win streak from Jan. 14-28. The Tigers are having their best season since 2015-16 when the team finished 16-11 and made it to the semi-finals of the SCAC Tournament.
This team has proven that when they are on, they can be one of the most dangerous teams in the conference. CC nearly handed No. 8 Trinity their second loss of the season in a 57-59 thriller on Feb. 11.
Best In the South
CC's defense is the best in the entire conference in field goal percentage. Their opponents shoot only 39.6 percent from the floor. The Tigers also have the best three-point percentage defense in the SCAC (.270), the third-best among all NCAA DIII teams.
On the board, the Tigers have also proven to be the best in the conference. They average 34.7 boards per game as a team, the most in the SCAC and 13th best in the nation. Their rebounding margin is +7.4, also the best in the SCAC and 25th in the nation.
Boykin is sixth in the conference in rebounds per game with 7.0, while senior
Trey Crawford is 13th in the SCAC and second on the team with 5.7 boards per game.
Scouting The Competition
Dallas comes into the tournament riding a 12-13 record.
The Crusaders own the fourth-best scoring offense in the SCAC, averaging 77.2 points per game. Dallas also has the third-worst scoring defense in the conference, surrendering 79.4 points per game.
Dallas ranks in the top four in team three-point percentage, shooting 32.6 percent from beyond the arc this season.
If CC wins the opening round, No. 1 seeded Trinity awaits in the semifinals. Trinity is the only nationally ranked team in the tournament; they entered the week ranked 10th in the D3Hoops.com national polls.
