The Southern Conference has released the bracket for the 2026 Ingles Men’s Basketball Championship. The Citadel, holding a 10-21 overall record and a 7-11 mark in conference play, is seeded ninth and will play eighth-seeded Chattanooga (13-18, 7-11 SoCon) on Friday, March 6 at 5 p.m. ET. The game will take place at Harrah’s Cherokee Center in Asheville, North Carolina.
The Citadel enters the tournament after a 93-90 overtime win against Wofford, during which Sola Adebisi scored a career-high 27 points. This victory marked the Bulldogs’ fourth overtime win of the season—a program record—and secured their highest number of conference wins since the 2009-10 season.
During regular-season matchups between The Citadel and Chattanooga, each team won on the road. On February 7, The Citadel claimed a 78-71 victory at McKenzie Arena with four players scoring in double figures: Braxton Williams and Sola Adebisi each had 18 points; Carter Kingsbury added 16; Eze Wali contributed 11. The Bulldogs shot an even 50 percent from the field and made nearly all their free throws down the stretch to secure the win.
In their second meeting on February 21 at McAlister Field House, Chattanooga defeated The Citadel by a score of 93-72. Braxton Williams led with a double-double—26 points and 11 rebounds—while Christian Moore scored 16 points with eight rebounds for The Citadel. Chattanooga was effective from beyond the arc, making nearly half of its three-point attempts.
The winner of Friday’s matchup will advance to face top-seeded ETSU in the quarterfinals on Saturday, March 7 at noon ET.
Fans can watch Friday’s game via ESPN+ or Nexstar affiliates.
For more information about The Citadel basketball program, updates are available on X and Instagram @CitadelHoops as well as online at CitadelSports.com.
