With HBCU conference tournaments on the horizon, several teams enter with momentum while others are trying to regain what was lost coming down the stretch.
Here’s a look back at last week’s important events.
North Carolina A&T women clinch CAA regular season title
Head coach Tarrell Robinson mentioned on the HBCU Sports podcast that his Lady Aggies had held the top spot in the Coastal Athletic Association before and ran out of gas.
This year, A&T made it to the finish line with a game to spare, punishing William & Mary 77-52 on March 6 to clinch the conference title and the top seed in the upcoming conference tournament.
North Carolina A&T is off until Friday, when they’ll meet the winner of No. 8 Hofstra vs. No. 9 William & Mary in the CAA quarterfinals.
Norfolk State sweeps MEAC regular season championships
It wasn’t easy down the stretch for either the Norfolk State men or women, but the Spartans finished the regular season atop the MEAC mountain.
The NSU men lost a tough 91-87 overtime thriller to North Carolina Central last Monday, but rebounded on Thursday to defeat defending champion to finish tied with South Carolina State at 11-3.
The Spartans held a tiebreaker over the Bulldogs, giving them the No. 1 seed in the MEAC tournament, where they’ll face No. 8 Maryland-Eastern Shore on Wednesday.
The Spartans women team finished the regular season undefeated in conference play, but Howard didn’t make it easy for them. The Bison led at halftime but a quick 10-2 run helped seal a 68-56 NSU win and a 14-0 mark in MEAC play (27-4 overall).
Norfolk State will look to win their second straight tournament title beginning on Wednesday against No. 8 seed South Carolina State.
How the SWAC was won…by Southern
Both the Jaguars men’s and women’s basketball teams won the SWAC regular season titles last week. They earned the top seed in this week’s conference tournament taking place in Atlanta.
Southern’s women got unexpected help from a bitter rival as Grambling defeated Alabama A&M 77-65 on Thursday to give the Jaguars a two-game lead with one game remaining.
The Southern men had to wait until the finale to do it, but with a 71-57 win over Alabama A&M, the Jaguars wrapped up their first regular season SWAC championship since 2014.
Tennessee State men reach OVC semifinals
Tennessee State was a split second away from the Ohio Valley Conference championship game, losing a tough one to SIU-Edwardsville 71-69 in their first semifinal appearance since the 2013 season.
The Tigers finished the season 17-16 and with just one senior and grad student on the roster, the future is bright for Tennessee State.
