It's tournament time and the Clark Atlanta University Panthers are set to tip-off in Rock Hill, S.C. in the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Tournament at 10 a.m. Monday when they take Central State University.

The game can be viewed live on ESPN+ at https://www.espn.com/watch/player?id=a3b124d9-be43-4b49-af28-2c1d1d79ed73

The Panthers (11-15, 5-12 SIAC) are seeded sixth from the SIAC East while Central State (6-19, 4-15 SIAC) is seventh from the West Division. 
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It's the second matchup between the two teams this season with CAU falling just short of a win on the road on Nov. 27 when they fell to Central State 78-76.  The Panthers trailed by seven late in that game and pulled to within one with just under a minute remaining.  But that rally fell just short.

It was also the first time Central State had beaten Clark Atlanta since 2013.  CAU had won seven straight over the Marauders.  That last victory came in the SIAC Tournament in March 2020.
Monday, CAU comes into the tournament having lost their last two games, both seeing the Panthers with late game comebacks after trailing by at least 20 points early in the second half.  However,
Clark Atlanta had won three straight games prior to those two losses.

CAU continues to be led by junior Chris Martin and freshman Jalen Williams.  Martin was just named the SIAC's Men's Basketball Newcomer of the Year and named second team All-SIAC.  Martin led the conference in scoring with 19 points per game and was among the leaders in rebounding with just under seven boards a game. Williams' first season in a CAU uniform has seen him score 14.8 points per game and grab 6.4 boards per game. In that first game, Martin had 20 points and eight rebounds while Williams had 19 points and six rebounds.

CSU has been reeling over the past month, having lost ten consecutive games.  Their last win came on Jan. 22 when they defeated Lane 57-54.

Levar Miller is the Marauders' leading scorer at 13.5 points per game. Miller had 22 points against CAU in November.  Their second-leading scorer, Willie Jackson only had three points in eight minutes in that earlier game, and Willie Jackson, their third leading scorer hasn't played since January.

The winner of Monday's game will go on to play third-seeded LeMoyne-Owen College (15-11, 11-9 SIAC) at noon on Tuesday.