KATY, Texas – Lamar University will face 10^th-seeded Houston Baptist Wednesday evening in the second round of the Southland Conference Championships. HBU advanced to the second round after upsetting the seventh-seeded UIW Cardinals in the tournament's opening round.
 
The Cardinals received an opening-round bye after earning the league's No. 6 seed. Big Red closed the season on fire winning their final four games of the year to earn the bye after posting an 8-17 (.320) overall record and a 6-10 (.375) mark in Southland Conference games.
 
Midway through the season, the Southland elected to expand the tournament field to 10 teams which allowed Houston Baptist the opportunity to advance to Katy. The Huskies took full advantage of the opportunity Tuesday evening pulling the first upset of the playoffs with an 80-68 victory over UIW.
 
For the Cardinals, they are making their 20^th appearance in the SLC Championships and looking to win their fifth title and advance to their seventh NCAA tournament. It's the fifth consecutive tournament appearance for the Cardinals under head coach Tic Price. Prior to the 2016-17 season, the Cardinals had not qualified for the SLC Championships since the 2012 tournament.
 
The Cardinals lead the all-time series over Houston Baptist, 16-9 (.640), with the two schools having split the 2020-21 season series. The Cardinals have won five of the past six meetings and seven of the previous nine. LU and Houston Baptist have met in the Southland tournament one one other time. That game came during the 2019 championships when the Cards recorded a two-point victory.
 
The Cardinals have had a great deal of success in their opening-round games of the tournament, regardless of the round. LU is 15-4 (.789) all-time in those games.
 
The game against the Huskies will tip off at 8 p.m. from the Merrell Center in Katy. It will be broadcast live on Newstalk 560 KLVI and streamed live on ESPN+.