The Citadel men’s basketball team will begin its run in the 2026 Ingles Southern Conference Men’s Basketball Championship as the No. 9 seed, taking on No. 8 seed Chattanooga on Friday, March 6, at 5 p.m. ET. The game is set to take place at Harrah’s Cherokee Center in Asheville, North Carolina, and will be available for viewing on ESPN+ and through Nexstar affiliates.
The Bulldogs come into the tournament after a 93–90 overtime win against Wofford last Saturday. In that game, Sola Adebisi achieved a career-high of 27 points. This marked The Citadel’s fourth overtime victory this season, which is a program record. Additionally, their seven Southern Conference wins this year are the most since the 2009–10 season.
“I’m really proud of these guys and the way they’ve fought through the adversity that comes with a college basketball season,” said head coach Ed Conroy. “They’ve come a long way from November through where we are now. Our team has kept improving and working hard every day, and hopefully our best basketball is still ahead of us as we head to Asheville.”
During the regular season, The Citadel and Chattanooga split their two meetings, with each team winning on the road. The Citadel won 78–71 at Chattanooga on February 7, led by Braxton Williams and Sola Adebisi who each scored 18 points. Chattanooga responded with a 93–72 victory in Charleston on February 21; in that matchup Williams posted 26 points and 11 rebounds while Christian Moore added 16 points and eight rebounds.
“Chattanooga is an explosive offensive team,” Conroy said. “If you let them get out in transition and get comfortable shooting the three, they can be very dangerous. It starts with our shot selection, sharing the ball, getting paint touches and getting to the free-throw line.”
“Tournament basketball comes down to staying locked in possession by possession,” Conroy continued. “We’ve had strong leadership from guys like Sola, Braxton, Carter and Christian all year. Our focus is to keep doing the things that have helped us improve and be ready to compete at our best.”
The winner of Friday’s matchup will move forward to face top-seeded ETSU in the quarterfinals on Saturday, March 7 at noon ET.
For more updates about The Citadel basketball program, fans can follow @CitadelHoops on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram or visit CitadelSports.com.
