CAMPBELLSVILLE, Ky. – The slate is wiped clean. After a grueling regular season that tested their resilience, the Campbellsville University men's basketball team turns its attention to the postseason, entering the 2026 Mid-South Conference Championship Tournament as the #5 seed. The Tigers will open their tournament run with a quarterfinal match-up against their historic rival, the #4-seeded Lindsey Wilson College Blue Raiders, on Saturday, February 26, with tip-off scheduled for 3:30 p.m. ET in Bowling Green, Kentucky.
The Tigers concluded the 2025-26 regular season with an 18-10 overall record, demonstrating significant offensive firepower by averaging 74.0 points per game while shooting an efficient 44.9% from the floor and 36.0% from three-point range. Despite a challenging 3-9 mark in a deeply competitive Mid-South Conference, Campbellsville proved they could hang with the nation's elite, securing statement victories, including a home upset over then #15 Georgetown, and recently battling wire-to-wire with top-ranked Freed-Hardeman.
While the Tigers enter the tournament looking to snap a four-game losing skid to close the regular season, the postseason offers a fresh start. Head Coach
Brent Vernon's squad has consistently relied on a balanced scoring attack and a physical presence on the glass, averaging 32.2 rebounds and sharing the ball to the tune of 15.6 assists per contest. Veterans like
Dalton Kramer,
Jay Milburn, and
Ra Briggs will be leaned upon to provide steady leadership and execution under the bright lights of postseason play.
Saturday's quarterfinal offers Campbellsville a shot at redemption against a Lindsey Wilson squad that edged them twice during the regular season. Both match-ups were battles of contrasting halves and clutch execution.
In the MSC opener on January 8 at the Powell Athletic Center, the Tigers and Blue Raiders traded blows in an instant classic. Campbellsville took a 39-34 lead into the locker room, but Lindsey Wilson stormed back in the second half. After Milburn tied the game at 74-74 with a clutch pair of free throws in the dying moments, the Blue Raiders broke the Tigers' hearts with a buzzer-beating layup from Kenyata Carbon, who finished with a game-high 32 points.
The rematch in Columbia on January 29 saw the Tigers battle valiantly on the boards, but ultimately fall 83-68. Campbellsville found success inside through
Eli Brooks and Briggs, who combined for 19 points off the bench, with Briggs pulling down nine rebounds. However, a cold offensive stretch early in the second half allowed Lindsey Wilson to pull away.
To flip the script on Saturday, the Tigers will need to contain Carbon's dribble penetration, close out effectively on the perimeter, and capitalize on their own second-chance opportunities. In their previous meeting, the Tigers showed they could out-muscle the Blue Raiders on the offensive glass, a key advantage they must exploit in Bowling Green.
The MSC Tournament is notoriously unforgiving, but the #4 vs. #5 match-up is often the most tightly contested quarterfinal on the bracket. If the Tigers can put together 40 minutes of disciplined, two-way basketball, they have the offensive firepower to make a deep run.
A victory on Saturday would propel Campbellsville into Sunday's semifinal round, setting up a rematch with the tournament's top seed, Freed-Hardeman. But for now, the Tigers' focus remains squarely on the Blue Raiders. In the postseason, records are thrown out the window, and it all comes down to survive and advance.
