Jackson State has not lost a game in conference play in two seasons, competed admirably against non-SWAC opponents and most recently put a scare into LSU in the NCAA tournament.
The Tigers’ rapid rise has not only put the SWAC on notice but placed the program in the unenviable position of being a team no one wants to willingly play.
Jackson State head coach Tomekia Reed this week explained how difficult it has been to schedule non-conference games now that the Tigers have not performed like a traditional mid-major.
Reed said while there was interest from Power 5 schools such as UCLA and Florida wanting to play in Jackson, completing its pre-SWAC schedule was difficult.
“We had a lot of heartaches filling our schedule because no one wanted to play us,” said Reed during SWAC Media Day. “When you build a powerhouse team at an HBCU, a lot of these bigger schools don’t wanna play.”
As part of its 2022-23 schedule, JSU is scheduled to play Colorado, Texas Tech and Lousiana-Lafayette in the WNIT in November.
“I’m so thankful for the WNIT challenge and it gives us an opportunity to see early what our players are like, she said. That tournament-style play, which is back-to-back games, we will get an opportunity to see what we’re really made of.”
