SoCon men’s basketball tournament bracket set

SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Regular-season Southern Conference champion ETSU is the No. 1 seed in the Ingles Southern Conference Men’s Basketball Championship, which takes place March 6-9 at Harrah’s Cherokee Center – Asheville in Asheville, North Carolina.
 
The tournament begins Friday, March 6, with a pair of first-round games. Four quarterfinal games follow on Saturday, March 7, with the semifinals on Sunday, March 8, and the title game on Monday, March 9, at 7 p.m. The semifinals will air on ESPNU, while Monday’s championship game will air live on ESPN or ESPN2. The other six games will air on ESPN+, with Friday’s first round matchups also appearing on select Nexstar affiliates and Saturday’s showdowns also broadcasting on South Carolina ETV.

ETSU locked up the outright regular season title with a 87-75 victory at UNCG on Feb. 21. The Buccaneers’ win over the Spartans clinched the program’s first regular season title in six seasons. ETSU enters the postseason with a 21-10 overall record and a 13-5 ledger in conference play. Three wins in Asheville will give the Bucs their ninth SoCon Tournament crown.

ETSU opens play on Saturday, March 7, at noon, where the Buccaneers will take on No. 8 seed Chattanooga or No. 9 seed The Citadel, who will face off in the first round on Friday at 5 p.m. The Mocs and Bulldogs split their two meetings in the regular season, with the road team winning each of those matchups.

Friday’s second contest will see No. 7 seed UNCG take on No. 10 seed VMI at 7:30 p.m. The Spartans won both matchups in the regular season, winning, 85-78, on Jan. 21, and 92-71, on Feb. 11.

The winner of that game will advance to face No. 2 seed Wofford on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. The Terriers, who are the defending tournament champions, went 19-12 overall and 11-7 in SoCon play under first-year coach Kevin Giltner. Wofford swept VMI during the season and splits its matchups with UNCG.

Saturday’s third game will see No. 3 seed Samford take on No. 6 seed Furman at 6 p.m. The Bulldogs are winners of eight of their last nine game entering the postseason. The Paladins were victorious in each of the games in the regular season, winning 77-73 in Birmingham on Jan. 14, and 78-73 at home on Jan. 29. Samford last won the tournament in 2024, while the Furman last took home the title in 2023.

No. 4 seed Mercer will take on No. 5 seed Western Carolina in the final quarterfinal contest on Saturday at 8:30 p.m. The two teams played each other in the first round of the tournament last year, with the Bears sneaking by the Catamounts 67-66. On Saturday, both teams ended the regular season on a high as Mercer topped ETSU, while Western Carolina defeated Furman for its sixth straight win. The two squads split the matchups in the regular season, with the Bears winning back on Jan. 21, and the Catamounts coming out ahead on Feb. 25.

 
2026 Ingles Southern Conference Men’s Basketball Championship
Friday, March 6 (ESPN+/Nexstar)
Game 1 - (8) Chattanooga vs. (9) The Citadel, 5 p.m.
Game 2 - (7) UNCG vs. (10) VMI, 7:30 p.m.
 
Saturday, March 7 (ESPN+/SCETV)
Game 3 - (1) ETSU vs. Game 1 winner, Noon
Game 4 - (2) Wofford vs. Game 2 winner, 2:30 p.m.

Game 5 - (3) Samford vs. (6) Furman, 6 p.m.

Game 6 - (4) Mercer vs. (5) Western Carolina, 8:30 p.m.
 
Sunday, March 8 (ESPNU)
Game 7 - Game 3 winner vs. Game 6 winner, 4 p.m.
Game 8 - Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner, 6:30 p.m.
 
Monday, March 9 (ESPN or ESPN2)
Championship game, 7 p.m.