Tweet #theGAC  RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. – With the 2022-23 GAC women’s and men’s basketball regular seasons complete, the league announced the brackets and schedules for the GAC Basketball Championships. The event begins on Thursday with four quarterfinal contests from FireLake Arena in Shawnee, Oklahoma.

The Championships open with the top two seeds on both sides beginning play. In the women’s draw, No. 2 Harding faces No. 7 East Central at noon followed by a men’s matchup between No. 2 Southern Arkansas and No. 7 Oklahoma Baptist. Southern Nazarene became the first GAC school to win outright regular-season titles in both men’s and women’s basketball since Arkansas Tech in 2011-12. The women earned the No. 1 seed for the first time in program history. They play No. 8 Southern Arkansas at 5:45 p.m. The men take on familiar first-round foe Ouachita Baptist at 8 p.m. The Crimson Storm and Tigers met in the quarterfinals in five-straight years from 2016 through 2020.

Friday’s quartet of games begins at noon with two women’s quarterfinals – No. 4 Arkansas Tech against No. 5 Oklahoma Baptist followed by rivals No. 3 Henderson State and No. 6 Ouachita Baptist. The Reddies won the lone GAC Championship meeting between the two schools, a quarterfinal contest in 2018. The day concludes with No. 4 East Central challenging No. 5 Arkansas Tech and the No. 6 Reddies playing No. 3 Southeastern Oklahoma State in the final two men’s quarterfinals.

Semifinal Saturday opens at noon with the two women’s semifinals followed by the men’s semifinals at 5:45. On Sunday, the women’s final tips at 1 p.m. proceeded by the men’s title clash at 3:30 p.m.

The GAC Sports Network will broadcast all 14 contests. Joey McWilliams and Blake Smith will call all the action over the four days. Fans can purchase All-Session passes for $70, $42 for students. Single-Session passes sell for $12, $7 for students. Children five and under receive free admission For complete coverage and additional information, visit the GAC Basketball Championships Central page.

2023 GAC Basketball Championships

Thursday, March 2 - Quarterfinals:
Women’s Game #1: Noon - #2 Harding vs #7 East Central
Men’s Game #1: 2:15 PM - #2 Southern Arkansas vs #7 Oklahoma Baptist
Women’s Game #2: 5:45 PM - #1 Southern Nazarene vs #8 Southern Arkansas
Men’s Game #2: 8:00 PM - #1 Southern Nazarene at #8 Ouachita Baptist

Friday, March 3 - Quarterfinals:
Women’s Game #3: Noon - #4 Arkansas Tech vs #5 Oklahoma Baptist
Women Game #4: 2:15 PM - #3 Henderson State vs #6 Ouachita Baptist
Men’s Game #3: 5:45 PM - #4 East Central vs #5 Arkansas Tech
Men’s Game #4: 8:00 PM - #3 Southeastern Oklahoma State vs #6 Henderson State

Saturday, March 4 - Semifinals:
Women’s Game #5: Noon – Winner Game #2 vs Winner Game #3
Women’s Game #6: 2:15 PM - Winner Game #1 vs Winner Game #4
Men’s Game #5: 5:45 PM- Winner Game #2 vs Winner Game #3
Men’s Game #6: 8:00 PM - Winner Game #1 vs Winner Game #4

 Women’s Game #7: 1:00 PM - Winner Game #5 vs Winner Game #6
Men’s Game #7: 3:30 PM - Winner Game #5 vs Winner Game #6