McNeese clinched the final berth in the tournament on the final day of the regular season by overcoming a 22-point second-half deficit to earn 79–78 dramatic comeback victory over New Orleans.[6] The McNeese win eliminated Incarnate Word, which controlled its own destiny but lost, 81–64, to Northwestern State.[7]
Teams were seeded by record within the conference, with a tie–breaker system to seed teams with identical conference records. The top two seeds received double byes into the semifinals in the merit-based format. The No. 3 and No. 4 seeds received single byes to the quarterfinals. Tiebreakers used are, in general, 1) Head-to-head results, 2) comparison of records against individual teams in the conference starting with the top-ranked team(s) and working down, 3) road record in conference games, 4) comparison of road records against individual teams in the conference starting with the top-ranked team(s) and working down and 5) NCAA NET rankings available on day following the conclusion of regular-season play.[8]
If a team that is not eligible for the NCAA Tournament wins the Southland Conference Tournament, the conference's automatic bid goes to the regular-season champion.[9]