Eagles take on Florida SouthWestern in State Tournament Quarterfinals

NICEVILLE, Fla. (March 9, 2023) — TCC Men's Basketball arrived in Niceville on Wednesday afternoon, getting ready to play Florida SouthWestern State in the quarterfinals of the FCSAA/NJCAA Region 8 Tournament. The Eagles finished the regular season 26-4, and 9-3 in the Panhandle Conference, good enough to clinch a share of the conference title alongside Chipola and Northwest Florida State. The game against Florida SouthWestern will tip off at 3:00 PM CST, after the completion of the game between Daytona State and Eastern Florida State. The winners of these two matchups will meet on Friday in the semifinals. 

Florida SouthWestern entered the season ranked second in the country, behind only the reigning national champions, Northwest Florida State. They dropped two games early in the season against nationally-ranked opponents Snow and Salt Lake, and then later lost to Chipola. The Buccaneers went on a tough stretch starting in December, losing five of six games. This bad run of form saw them fall out of the national rankings, while also putting their postseason chances in jeopardy. They rattled off six straight wins to end the regular season, vaulting them back into second place in the Southern Conference, and securing an automatic bid to the state tournament. 

Players to watch

Florida SouthWestern State has one of the most talented teams in the tournament, led by sophomore guard Jadrian Tracey and sophomore forward Tyson Brown. Tracey leads Region 8 in three-point percentage (43.1) and leads the Bucs in scoring (14.3). Tracey can score in bunches, his career-high came on February 16 against State College of Florida, where he scored 34 on 12-for-16 shooting. The St. Joe's transfer is from Fort Myers and was essential in leading the Bucs to a second-place finish in the Southern Conference, where they finished with a 7-5 record. 

Tyson Brown is a 6'9" forward who came to FSW by way of Western Texas College. Last season at Western Texas, Brown averaged a double-double and earned All-WJCAC honors. This season, he's third in Region 8 in rebounds per game (9.4) and he's tied for tenth in blocks per game (1.4). During the non-conference portion of FSW's schedule, Brown went on a run that saw him reach double figures in rebounds in eight consecutive games. He scored a career-high 23 points against Salt Lake, who are currently ranked ninth in the country. 

What's at stake

TCC's impressive resume earned them the #3 seed at the tournament, seeded behind #2 Daytona State and #1 Chipola. During the regular season, TCC finished a combined 3-1 against those two teams. TCC is looking for its fourth state title, with the last coming in 2011. Winning the tournament secures an automatic berth to the NJCAA Division I Championships in Hutchinson, Kansas, scheduled to start on Monday, March 20. 

All tournament information including the bracket, schedule, and ticket information can be found here.