BEAUMONT, Texas – Following one of the greatest runs in program in history to close the season, the Lamar University men's basketball team will be making its third-straight trip to the Southland Conference Championships. The Cardinals enter the postseason as the league's No. 5 overall seed and will face eighth-seeded Houston Baptist in the first game of the tournament Wednesday. For the Cards, Wednesday's tip off will represent their 18^th appearance in the Southland Championship tournament. LU is going in search of its fifth tournament title and to make its seventh appearance in the NCAA Championships.
 
Winners of eight straight, and 10 of the last 11 games, the Cardinals (19-12/12-6 SLC) enter the conference tournament as the league's hottest team. At one point left for dead at the bottom of the conference standings, the Cardinals' hot streak took them from a tie for 11^th in the conference standings into a three-way tie for third after the final day of competition. Big Red will now square off against a Houston Baptist team that closed the year in similar fashion to LU.
 
The Huskies (12-17/8-10 SLC) had a slow start to conference play winning just one of their first seven games and found themselves in last place in the standings. HBU got hot during the middle of the season winning five of six to battle their way back into the tournament hunt.
 
Wednesday's game marks the third time this season the two teams have met on the court this year, with each team winning on its home floor. The Huskies opened the year with a six-point overtime win over the Cardinals in Houston, while Big Red responded with a 35-point thumping in Beaumont last month. The Cardinals lead the all-time series against Houston Baptist, 12-8 (.556), and have won three of the past four games in the series. Wednesday's meeting will be the first time the two schools have played each other in the conference tournament.
 
The Cardinals will also be looking for their 20^th win of the season when they open tournament play. The benchmark for a successful season – in terms of wins – has long been viewed as a 20-win campaign. With an opening-round win in the tournament, the Cardinals can post their first 20-win season since the 2011-12 year (23-12) – which was also the last time LU advanced to the NCAA Championships.
 
Big Red has been close to that 20-win plateau each of the past three seasons. The Cardinals have rattled off three-straight 19-win campaigns dating back to the 2016-17 season. That is the program's longest run of success since winning at least 19 games from the 1982-83 through 1984-85 seasons.
The Cardinals will tip off the 2019 SLC Championships Wednesday at 5 p.m. from the Merrell Center. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ and can be heard live on Newstalk 560 KLVI.