Both of the top-seeded teams in the Southwestern Athletic Conferences (SWAC) handled their business in the conference tournament.
The men’s Grambling State Tigers and women’s Jackson State Tigers backed up their regular season title with tournament championships and punched their ticket to the NCAA Tournament.
Grambling State won their first-ever SWAC Championship and first bid into the Big Dance with a 75-66 win over third-seeded Texas Southern.
Grambling led 41-24 at the half. A strong second half from Texas Southern got it within seven, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the strong Grambling start. Grambling’s stout defense forced TSU to shoot 18% from the 3-point line.
Grambling’s Jourdan Smith scored a team-high 20 points with three boards, two blocks and two assists. His teammate Tra’Michael Moton earned tournament MVP. Moton tied a season-high with 26 points in the win over Bethune-Cookman in the semifinals.
Along with Moton, Grambling’s Kintavious Dozier was named to the all-tournament team. Dozier averaged 13 points and three rebounds in the tourney.
Grambling will travel to Dayton, Ohio, to play Montana State Wednesday in the first play-in game of the tournament at 6:40 p.m. ET on CBS. The winner will face No. 1 seed Purdue.
Jackson State continue to dominate on the women’s side with the 68-44 win over Alcorn State. The Tigers lifted their ninth SWAC title and third under coach Tomekia Reed.
The Tigers started the game on an 8-0 run and didn’t look back, with the lead ballooning to 31. The Tigers dominated all parts of the game, out rebounding the Braves 58-37, swatting 10 shot attempts, and forcing Alcorn State to shoot 20% from behind the arc.
Andriana Avent came off the bench and scored a game-high 17 points. Hayleigh Breeland was also in double digits with 11 points off a bench that chipped in 41 points.
Avent and her teammate Ti’lan Boler were both named on the all-tournament team.
Jackson State, a No. 14 seed, will take on the No. 3 seed UConn on Saturday (1 p.m ET, ABC).
