Division I women’s basketball conference tournaments are drawing closer, and much is still to be decided as March — and all that madness — begins.
There is something special happening in the SWAC where Alabama A&M — sitting in first place — is currently on a Division I program record 14-game winning streak. The Bulldogs can lock up the regular-season championship with a win on Saturday versus rival Alabama State.
The same can be said in the MEAC for Howard and defending conference champion Norfolk State, who are separated by just 1/2 game in the standings. The regular-season crown likely won’t be decided until the final week.
But looking ahead to projections, if the conference leaders reach the NCAA tournament, where will they end up? For the SWAC and MEAC, that means either a slot on the No. 15 or No. 16 line.
Here are the national projections.
Joe Lunardi, the ESPN college basketball analyst, released his latest NCAA tournament projections and it features Alabama A&M in the First Four against Chattanooga, with the winner going on to play No. 1 seed South Carolina
Per Lunardi’s Bracketology piece, Howard is projected to play No. 1 Texas as an outright No. 16 seed.
According to the CBS Sports bracket, the Bison and Bulldogs are slotted as No. 16 seeds, with Alabama A&M in the First Four and Howard to play at reigning national champion UConn.
Her Hoop Stats features both Alabama A&M and Howard in the First Four, playing against Fairleigh Dickinson and Chattanooga, respectively.
Howard last made the NCAA Tournament in 2022 when it beat Incarnate Word in the First Four before losing to South Carolina in the next round
Alabama A&M hasn’t made an NCAA postseason appearance since 1997, when the program qualified for the Division II tournament. That season, the Bulldogs lost in the first round to Kentucky State.
