LAKELAND, Fla.—Across all levels of college basketball this week, there have been many different tournaments held in unique parts of the world in different venues than your typical gymnasium.
From the Battle for Atlantis in the Bahamas to the Maui Invitational in Hawaii, to Kingsport, Tennessee, where the Southeastern University Fire will participate in "The Show," featuring some of the top NAIA Division II squads.
The games will be played in the ballroom at the MeadowView Conference Resort and Convention Center in eastern Tennessee.
On Saturday, the Fire will meet Rio Grande University at 5 p.m., then will take on West Virginia Tech at 1 p.m. on Sunday.
The Fire enter the tournament with a perfect 4-0 record and are the NAIA's top field goal and 3-point shooting team. In its first four games, SEU has shot 56.5% from the field, and 49% from beyond the arc, helping them to average 105 points per game; good for second in the NAIA in scoring.
The starting five for the Fire are all averaging double-digit points per game, with senior
Jake Hodges leading the way at 17.3. Junior
Isaac Barsh is the squad's leading rebounder at eight per contest.
The Red Storm of Rio Grande were receiving votes in the preseason Top 25 poll, and are off to a 5-3 start, and are looking to bounce back from a 97-78 loss to Mount Vernon Nazarene last Saturday. Rio is currently 24
th in the NAIA in field goal shooting at 48.6%, and have been one of the better rebounding teams in the country, holding an average rebound margin of 6.75 per game.
The last time these two teams met, the Fire came away with a 92-81 win over Rio at the UCF Classic in Orlando on December 22, 2013.
West Virginia Tech enters the tournament at 4-3, and will also see The Sun Conference's St. Thomas during the weekend. The Golden Bears have won their last two games, knocking off Point Park 71-69 and Bluefield State 69-65. Junior Paul Stone will be a tough matchup, averaging 16.3 points and 9.7 rebounds per contest.
For all the latest on the tournament, visit the Dakstats
tournament central.
