SCAC announces 2012 Men's Basketball Tournament Bracket; Western Division No. 4 seed Dallas to play No. 1 Birmingham-Southern (AL)

SUWANEE, Ga. - The SCAC office today announced the bracket for the 2012 men's basketball tournament, which will be begin Friday, Feb. 24 in Birmingham, Alabama. Tournament Bracket |Official Tournament Website | Hoops Weekly - Tournament Edition

Eighth-ranked Birmingham-Southern College, who is serving as host of this year's event, earned the top seed from the Eastern Division, while Trinity University earned the top seed from the Western Division for the second consecutive year and third time in four years.

Birmingham-Southern is the first host school in the 10-year history of the SCAC Men's Basketball Tournament to earn a top seed. 
 
Three-time defending champion, Centre College, enters this year's event as the third-seed out of the East and will have to buck the trend of a top seed winning every tournament since the league went to divisional play in 2008 to earn title No. 4.

Sewanee-The University of the South and Oglethorpe University both finished with a 6-10 SCAC East Division mark, but the Tigers earned the fourth seed by virtue of their better divisional record against top teams in descending order - in this case, an 85-78 victory over Centre College on Jan. 7.

Friday's quarterfinal round, Saturday's semifinal games and Sunday's championship game will all be contested at Birmingham-Southern College.

Friday - Quarterfinals at Birmingham-Southern College
1 p.m. CT - #1E Birmingham-Southern (15-1/24-1) vs. #4W Dallas (5-11/7-18)
3 p.m. CT - #2W Austin College (11-5/15-10) vs. #3E Centre (10-6/16-8)
6 p.m. CT - #1W Trinity (12-4/17-8) vs. #4E Sewanee (6-10 /12-12)
8 p.m. CT - #2E Rhodes (12-4/17-8) vs. #3W Colorado College (8-8/12-12)

Saturday - Semifinals at Birmingham-Southern College
1 p.m. CT - Winner #1E/#4W vs. Winner #2W/#3E
3 p.m. CT - Winner #1W/#4E vs. Winner #2E/#3W

Sunday - Finals at Birmingham-Southern College
Noon CT - Winner 1 p.m. Semifinal vs. Winner 3 p.m. Semifinal

For more information on the 2012 SCAC Men's Basketball Tournament, click here for the official website.