March 5, 2004

ARLINGTON, Texas - UTA begins its quest for its first NCAA Tournament appearance as they host Louisiana-Monroe in the opening round of the Southland Conference Men's Basketball Postseason Tournament at Texas Hall Monday. Tipoff is at 7 p.m. and tickets are on sale for $7 for adults.

The Mavericks claimed a share of the Southland Conference regular season crown for the first time in 40 years after Texas-San Antonio defeated Southeastern Louisiana 106-86 to force a three-way tie between the three teams. UTA earned the top seed with a 3-0 record against UTSA and SLU.

UTA is on an eight-game win streak, matching the longest in school history, following an 81-53 win over Sam Houston State March 3 at Texas Hall.

By virtue of being the No. 1 seed of the tournament, UTA has homecourt advantage through the postseason. The SLC tourney semifinals are Wednesday at 7 p.m. and the finals are slated for 3:30 p.m. on Friday. The game will be televised on ESPN2. UTA hopes to return to the title game for the first time since 1998. The Mavericks have never made an NCAA appearance.