LAKELAND, Fla. -- Barry University has never done this. But hey, there's a first time for everything.

Barry (19-7) meets Rollins (16-13) at noon Saturday in the Sunshine State Conference Tournament semifinals at Florida Southern College's Jenkins Field House. It is the fourth straight trip to the SSC semifinals for the Buccaneers. Yet they still have not been able to win the coveted conference tournament title.

Ever.

"Every team loves a chance to play in March," Bucs assistant coach Justin Furr said. "Conference tournaments around the country give every team a chance to do something special, and make a memory they can take with them for a lifetime. We've worked hard this year to put ourselves in a position to make a run at a tournament championship."

Barry would get that shot if it can beat the Tars Saturday, setting up a championship game appearance at 1 p.m. Sunday.

The Bucs split with the Tars during the regular season, each winning on their home court. The last time the two teams met in the postseason was 2016 when Barry won a first round NCAA Division II Tournament game in Huntsville, Ala. Both teams have taken a Jekyll and Hyde approach to their seasons. The Bucs could not win back-to-back games in January. The Tars had lost six in a row before winning their past two.

Furr considers Rollins' Sam Philpott (18.1 ppg, 60.4 FG %) and Jeff Merton (17.1 ppg, 40.1 3-pt FG %) two of the Top 10 players in the SSC. In the last meeting between the two teams, Philpott scored 23, and Merton 16 as Rollins shot 56 percent to pick up the win. Connor Mckim had 17 points, Jack Fleming 12 and Eric Castaneda 10 in a balanced Tars attack.

Barry hit 41 percent of its field goals in that game. But that's the other end of the extreme. When the Bucs have been on, they're tough to beat. Wednesday, they shot lights out, putting up a season-best 66 percent field goal performance. That is the third highest in school history.

Bucs forward Sunday Dech has stepped up his offensive game the last four tips, reaching double figures each time. Kooper Glick has risen his level of play, and is coming off a career-high 14 points on Wednesday. That followed his nine-point performance in the regular season finale. Sawyer Glick has hit nine triples in the past two games, and Marko Tomic has scored in double figures in eight of the last 13 games. 

Now it boils down to bringing that championship mentality, and Barry is chasing something Rollins has.

"Rollins is the defending champion, and returns a large part of last year's Elite Eight team," Furr said. "We must be ready to play on Saturday, and come in with a sense of urgency."

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