UCA men’s basketball heads to ASUN Tournament as No. 1 seed

CONWAY, Ark. (KLRT) – The UCA Bears will head to the Sunshine State this week to play in the ASUN Men’s Basketball Tournament.

The Bears are the No. 1 seed in the tournament after winning a share of the regular season title on Saturday.

Having the top seed in the tournament means they have a bye, and just three wins stand in front of them and an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

“March Madness is March Madness. It’s the most special thing there is. It is, I’m sorry. It’s better than the Super Bowl when you’re part of it. You know what’s there. You know what it’s like to see your name called once you’ve been there. You know what’s it all about? And you want to go back so bad,” UCA head men’s basketball coach John Shulman said.

The Bears will face off with the winner of the Bellarmine and Jacksonville game on Friday at 11 a.m.

“Our quarterfinal game will be brutal, and we understand that our quarterfinal game is going to be really, really difficult. Well, that gets our guys’ attention right off the bat,” Shulman said.

Year two has been a phenomenal one for Shulman and the Bears, but they are not resting on their laurels with an NCAA Tournament berth on the line.

“I hope we have something to show for this season because it’s been a special year. We’re going to put everything we have in this thing, and we’re going to risk everything we got. So there’s no fall, but there’s not a plan B, there’s not a fallback plan. Oh boy. We had a great year. This is do or die, and we understand this. Do or die,” Shulman said. Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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