TAMPA, Fla. – Only three weeks of play remain in the regular season as basketball teams in The Sun Conference battle and vie for the elusive six positions in both the women’s and men’s postseason Sun championship tournaments.
 
The Sun Conference “Games of the Week” will both be played on Saturday and each features a critical rematch from games played back on Dec. 5.
 
The featured women’s “Game of the Week” is slated for a noon tipoff on Saturday when Johnson & Wales (15-5, 9-3) visits Coastal Georgia (14-7, 9-3).  The two teams enter this week’s play with matching 9-3 league records and in a tie for second place in the Sun standings behind No. 1-ranked Southeastern. Johnson & Wales – who this week received votes in the NAIA Coaches’ Top 25 poll for the second time in a row – won the initial meeting with the Mariners. The Wildcats won that Dec. 5 tilt in North Miami by a 78-74 score. 
 
Both teams open the week with conference games on Thursday as JWU plays at Thomas and Coastal Georgia entertains Keiser.  The battle for second place is significant on a couple of fronts.  One, the top two teams in the regular-season standings earn first-round byes in the conference tournament and advance directly to the semifinals.  And, perhaps more importantly, a second-place finish in the regular-season standings puts that team in line to grab the Sun’s second automatic berth into the NAIA Division II national championship tournament in the event that the regular-season champion also wins the conference tournament title.
 
The men’s featured game on Saturday (4 p.m. tipoff) is a rematch of an 83-76 upset win for Webber International at Southeastern on Dec. 5. The Warriors (13-11, 6-7) look for the season sweep of the Fire on their home court as they try to strengthen their hold on a playoff slot. Webber International currently stands fifth, a game ahead of sixth-place Warner and 1 ½ games in front of seventh-place Coastal Georgia. No. 21 Southeastern (17-7, 10-3) enters the week in a tie for second place with RV Ave Maria and 1 ½ games behind league-leading No. 6 Keiser (11-1).
 
Both teams open the week on Thursday with difficult matchups. Webber International travels to second-place co-holder Ave Maria, and Southeastern entertains a dangerous Warner team that dropped a narrow five-point verdict at home against Sun leader Keiser last Saturday.
 
Fans can follow the women’s “Game of the Week” via stream or live stats at Coastal Georgia’s stream at https://portal.stretchinternet.com/coastalgeorgia/. The men’s “Game of the Week” can be followed via stream or live stats at https://portal.stretchinternet.com/webber/.