Anchor Drop, March 24, 2023: Southland Bowling Championship

Good morning.

Optional Musical Accompaniment

It’s that time. Vanderbilt bowling opens the three-day Southland Bowling League championship today at the Rowlett Bowl-a-Rama in Rowlett, Texas. Yes, that’s a real place. The Commodores open the tournament as the top seed and will face Valparaiso in today’s opening match at 8:30 AM. At 1:30, they’ll face either Youngstown State or Sam Houston in the second match of the double-elimination tournament. Live stream is on Inside Bowling or the Vanderbilt athletics YouTube channel.

Also, since parlagi noted in yesterday’s Anchor Drop that no Southland Conference member school sponsors bowling with the departures of Sam Houston and Stephen F. Austin, well... actually, this is the last go-round for the Southland Bowling League:

With the conclusion of this championship, the Southland Bowling League will be no more. Much is owed to the Southland by the bowling community.

The Southland Bowling League is being absorbed by Conference USA, which will start sponsoring bowling in the next academic year; starting next year, three full-time Conference USA members (current SBL members Louisiana Tech and Sam Houston and Jacksonville State, which is sponsoring women’s bowling as a varsity sport starting next year.)

Okay, so fine, you probably care more about the baseball team, which swept one Mississippi school last weekend and will look to do it again when they unfortunately have to visit Starkville for a three-game series at Mississippi State. Tonight’s game is scheduled to start at 5:00 PM CT, moved up because... oh. Oh, God.

Yeah, actually, I’ll be surprised if they can get this one in. I assume it’s on the SEC Network+ because how could they not show Finebaum.

Also playing Mississippi State: men’s tennis, which hosts the Bulldogs at 4:00 PM CT. Women’s tennis visits Arkansas, also at 4. Women’s golf opens its last tournament of the regular season at the Clemson Invitational, teeing off at 8:10 AM CT.

And finally, you absolutely hate to see it.

Sports on TV

All times Central. SEC baseball schedule here.

• 1:00 PM: PGA Tour: World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play (Golf Channel)
• 5:30 PM: NCAA Tournament: San Diego State vs. Alabama (TBS)
• 6:00 PM: NBA: Pacers at Celtics (NBA TV)
• 6:00 PM: NHL: Islanders at Blue Jackets (NHL Network)
• 6:15 PM: NCAA Tournament: Miami vs. Houston (CBS)
• 8:00 PM: NCAA Tournament: Princeton vs. Creighton (TBS)
• 8:45 PM: NCAA Tournament: Xavier vs. Texas (CBS)
• 9:00 PM: NBA: 76ers at Warriors (NBA TV)

Scoreboard

NCAA Tournament: Kansas State 98, Michigan State 93 ... UConn 88, Arkansas 65 ... Florida Atlantic 62, Tennessee 55 ... Gonzaga 78, UCLA 76.

SEC Baseball: Auburn 7, Georgia 6.

NBA: Magic 111, Knicks 106 ... Cavaliers 116, Nets 114 ... Pelicans 115, Hornets 96 ... Clippers 127, Thunder 105.

NHL: Flyers 5, Wild 4 ... Bruins 4, Canadiens 2 ... Rangers 2, Hurricanes 1 ... Blues 4, Red Wings 3 ... Maple Leafs 6, Panthers 2 ... Senators 7, Lightning 2 ... Capitals 6, Blackhawks 1 ... Predators 2, Kraken 1 ... Golden Knights 3, Flames 2 ... Stars 3, Penguins 2 ... Jets 3, Ducks 2 ... Canucks 7, Sharks 2.