Typical NCAA bids (Southland): 1-2 per year over the last five seasons. Nicholls, McNeese, and Sam Houston historically contend. Tournament champion gets the auto-bid; at-large possible in strong years.

The Southland tournament champion earns an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. Other teams must earn an at-large selection from the NCAA selection committee, which weighs RPI, conference record, strength of schedule, and quality wins. Standings here are sorted by conference winning percentage, the primary metric used to seed the conference tournament.