Louisiana Christian hosts doubleheader vs. Huston-Tillotson on Monday, prepare for RRAC Tournament

PINEVILLE – Louisiana Christian University’s men’s basketball team punched their ticket to postseason Red River Athletic Conference tournament Saturday with an exciting 73-61 over Texas A&M–Texarkana.

Both LCU teams are assured of a berth in the postseason conference event, and if they win each of their regular-season finales Monday against Huston-Tillotson, Rapides Parish Coliseum will get to host not one, but two, first-round matchups between LCU and LSU–Alexandria on Friday.

The Wildcats men’s and women’s basketball teams host Huston-Tillotson on Monday, Feb. 20, in a makeup doubleheader originally scheduled for Feb. 2. The Rams basketball teams were unable to safely depart Austin, Texas, due to winter storms.

Louisiana Christian’s women tip off against Huston-Tillotson at 5:30 p.m. at LCU’s H.O. West Fieldhouse, with the men set to follow at approximately 7:30 p.m.

Here is what’s at stake in the RRAC’s final regular-season contests:

The Wildcat men (11-16, 7-12 RRAC) would clinch the No. 5 seed in the tournament with a win over HT. LCU’s conference record would improve to 8-12 and pull them into a three-way tie for fifth place with Southwest (N.M.) and Our Lady of the Lake. Since LCU has a 3-1 record against those two teams, they would earn the No. 5 seed and face No. 4-seeded LSU–Alexandria.

A loss to the Rams would mean that Huston-Tillotson and LCU would finish tied for seventh place with identical 7-13 records. An HT win Monday would also give the Rams a season sweep of LCU, giving the Rams the tiebreaker and setting the Wildcats up with an opening-round game against regular-season champion LSU–Shreveport.

The Rams, meanwhile, need a win Monday to extend their season. A loss to LCU would drop Huston-Tillotson into a tie for eighth place with Jarvis Christian, a team that swept the regular-season series from the Rams and would therefore clinch the final tournament berth should the Wildcats win Monday.

For the women’s bracket, an LCU win over Huston-Tillotson would clinch third place in the RRAC outright for the Wildcats. The loss drop Huston-Tillotson into a tie for sixth place with LSU–Alexandria. The LSUA women have the tiebreaker on Huston-Tillotson and would clinch the No. 6 seed, setting up a 3-6 matchup against LCU.

Should HT defeat Louisiana Christian’s women Monday, the two teams would be locked with Our Lady of the Lake and Xavier (La.) for a four-way for third place. In such a scenario, LCU would be the fifth seed and face Xavier, and LSUA would drop to seventh place and face No. 2-seeded LSU–Shreveport.