With five days of this LSC Championship here in Bartlesville, every day and every session is great in its own way.

      But it’s pretty hard to beat what occurs every year on the Saturday of this tournament.

      And this year is no exception. Not to steal any thunder for the Women’s LSC Championship final to be played at 7 p.m. at Bruin Fieldhouse, the gym is sure to be rocking earlier in the day.

      The men’s semifinal games will feature arguably the best four teams of this conference, and both games have plenty of juicy storylines that is sure to create even more drama.

       And if nothing else, these four teams are also expected to be included in the eight-team field of next week’s South Central Regional.

       Let’s start with the first game – to be played at Noon on Saturday. Central Oklahoma, the No. 1 seed in the North with a 13-1 division record will square off against West Texas A&M, the No. 2 seed from the South with a 9-5 mark.

      But before it sounds like the Buffaloes of WT are in for an uphill battle, let’s not forget they not only knocked off the Bronchos earlier this season, but upset UCO in last year’s quarterfinal round of this very tournament when the Bronchos also entered as the No. 1 seed and favorite to win.

      UCO star Dauntae Williams, the North Division Player of the Year, said his teammates have not forgotten about the last two meetings with WT.

      “They’re a tough team – they play physical,” Williams said. “They beat us here last year and then they beat us in their house earlier this year. So we’ll be ready for them, for sure.”   

      Despite playing just once a year in the regular season, with occasional post-season matchups, there is plenty of history between WT and UCO.

       So imagine what it must be like for a pair of division-rivals in Tarleton State and Midwestern State, who tip off in the second semifinal game, approximately 2:30 p.m. The Mustangs and Texans will play their seventh game against each other in the last 13 months.       

      “We know them very well and they know us,” TSU head coach Lonn Reisman said. “We’re going to play hard and give everything we have. I know Midwestern is going to the same. These are always, always tough games.”

      This year, the Texans swept MSU in the regular season, beating them 68-56 in Stephenville back in early February, but then knocked off the Mustangs 49-47 on a last-second shot two weeks ago. The win not only clinched the LSC South title for the Texans, but snapped a 40-game home winning streak for MSU at D.L. Ligon Coliseum.

      In both games, Tarleton used stellar defense, holding MSU senior guard Chris Hagan to just eight and six points in the two games. Hagan was the LSC South Offensive Player of the Year and led the entire league in scoring at 21.7 points per game. 

      But remember, TSU’s two-game sweep this year is only half of what Midwestern did to the Texans a year ago. For it was the Mustangs who swept Tarleton in the regular-season, then beat the Texans in the LSC Championship final and then again in the South Central Regional semifinals back in Wichita Falls.

      “We know (MSU) wants to beat us but we haven’t forgotten last year,” Henry said. “That’s been on our minds since they beat us in the championship game in the conference tournament and when we lost to them in the regional. We’ve had that in our mind that Midwestern can beat us on any night. But this year we’ve turned it around on them.”

      Most of the time in a tournament or playoff format, players and coaches will say it doesn’t matter when asked which team they prefer to play. But following MSU’s win over Texas A&M-Commerce on Thursday, and just before the tipoff between Tarleton and Southwestern Oklahoma, Hagan made it rather clear which team he wanted.

      “Tarleton . . . Tarleton,” Hagan said before the entire question was even asked. “We want Tarleton. We have a lot of unfinished business. We’re going to root for them. We want them to win.”

      Tarleton did win, of course, setting the stage for what promises to be another memorable chapter in what is turning into one of the LSC’s best rivalries.

      But before that, UCO and West Texas will do battle with the Bronchos trying to avoid a third straight loss to the Buffaloes.

      Four traditional basketball programs – two huge games – and one afternoon. Seems like Bruin Fieldhouse is the place to be starting at Noon on Saturday.