LEVELLAND – The South Plains College Texan and Lady Texan basketball teams will wrap up their seasons Thursday night when they host Odessa College in a women's/men's doubleheader set to begin at 5:45 p.m. with the women's game. The men will follow at 7:45 p.m. and sophomores playing in the Texan Dome for the final time will be honored before both games.
South Plains College invites the public to 'Pack the Dome,' and is offering free hot dogs and burgers as fans arrive to the Texan Dome.
Both the Texans and Lady Texans have established their seeding for the Region 5 Tournament held March 5-8 at Lubbock Christian University's Rip Griffin Center, with the Texans clinching the top spot with Monday's win at Midland and the Lady Texans taking the No. 3 seed.
The Odessa men, however, will be playing like their playoff hopes depend on it – because they do.
Odessa (22-6, 10-5 WJCAC) needs to beat the Texans to assure themselves a spot in the regional tournament. A loss Thursday by the Wranglers – coupled with a Western Texas victory – would knock Odessa out of the playoff picture.
Odessa swept Western Texas during the season and can also clinch with a Westerner loss regardless of what happens at the Texan Dome.
The Odessa women have secured second place in the conference and are a game behind New Mexico for the league lead. The Lady Wranglers would need New Mexico to drop Thursday's game versus Clarendon and a win at the Texan Dome to claim a share of the league title.
Following Thursday's season finales, South Plains College will turn their attention to the Region 5 Tournament that begins with men's quarterfinal action on Wednesday, March 5. As the top seed from the WJCAC, the Texans will play their first game at 7 p.m. against the No. 4 seed from the NTJCAC. Currently, there is a three-way tie for fourth between Temple, Southwest Christian, and Weatherford.
Women's quarterfinal action will begin Thursday, March 6 with the Lady Texans playing in the first game of the day versus the NTJCAC's second seed, currently McLennan.