BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Officials at the Southwestern Athletic Conference have released the men’s and women’s brackets for the 2015 Toyota SWAC Basketball Tournament set at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas March 10-14. Texas Southern University swept the top spots, earning the No. 1 seed in both the men’s and women’s brackets.
The Tournament opens Tuesday, March 10 with an evening doubleheader, beginning with the No. 8 Alabama A&M University women against No. 9 Mississippi Valley State University at 6 p.m. and ending with the No. 8 Alcorn State University men taking on No. 9 Grambling State University at 8:30 p.m.
Men’s Tournament
The Texas Southern men won 11 of their last 12 conference games to finish 16-2 in league, 19-12 overall. They will face the winner of Alcorn State (5-25, 4-14 SWAC) and Grambling State (2-26, 0-18 SWAC) in the last quarterfinal game of the day on Wednesday, March 11 at 8:30 p.m. Alabama State University (18-9, 14-4 SWAC) defeated Jackson State University 11-20, 9-9 SWAC) to secure the No. 2 seed. They will take on No. 7 seed Mississippi Valley State University (6-25, 5-13 SWAC) Wednesday at 2:30 p.m.
Thursday’s action features No. 3 Southern University (16-16, 13-5 SWAC) vs. No. 6 Alabama A&M (9-19, 8-10 SWAC) at 2:30 p.m. and then No. 4 Prairie View A&M University (14-17, 12-6 SWAC) against No. 5 Jackson State in the final quarterfinal matchup at 8:30 p.m.
The semifinal matchups take place at 2:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. on Friday, March 13. The championship game will be broadcast live on ESPNU Saturday, March 14 at 5:30 p.m.
Women’s Tournament
After finishing the season tied, Texas Southern (19-10, 16-2 SWAC) split the regular season title with Southern (18-10, 16-2 SWAC), and edged past in the tiebreaker for the No. 1 seed. The Lady Tigers have dropped only one contest in the New Year, riding a 15-game win streak heading into the tournament. They will take on the winner of Alabama A&M (6-23, 5-13 SWAC) and Mississippi Valley (4-25, 2-16 SWAC) on Wednesday, March 11 at 6 p.m. As the No. 2 seed, Southern faces No. 7 Grambling State (10-19, 7-11 SWAC) at noon.
Day two of the women’s tournament pits No. 3 Jackson State (13-16, 10-8 SWAC) vs. No. 6 Alcorn State (10-17, 9-9 SWAC) in the first game at noon on Thursday. And then No. 4 Alabama State (14-14, 10-8 SWAC) takes on No. 5 Prairie View (13-17, 10-8 SWAC) at 6 p.m.
The semifinal games take place on Friday, March 13 at noon and 6 p.m. with the championship live on ESPN3 at 2 p.m.
Courtesy: SWAC.org