A.D. Drew & Bryan Fulford | Black College Sports Network

While HBCUs in NAIA and NCAA Division II have punched their tickets to the "Big Dance", NCAA Division I teams are in line to purchase their ticket this week.  Post-season play begins today in the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC).  Play will begin on Thursday in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference.  All NAIA and and the lone HBCU NCAA Division II team will open action on Friday.  Visit our Twitter feed @mybcsn1 or our website at www.mybcsn.net to stay updated on the game throughout the HBCU diaspora.  

Prairie View A&M    3/2  (+150)

Texas Southern    5/2  (+250)

Jackson State    11/4  (+275)

Southern    7/1  (+700)

Grambling    9/1  (+900)

Alcorn State    25/1  (+2500)

Arkansas-Pine Bluff    100/1  (+10000)

Mississippi Valley State    200/1  (+20000)
*odd via BETMGM

NOTE: Depending on where you shop, Texas Southern is as low as +185. Jackson State is still the third favorite as low as +250, and Southern and Grambling tied at 7/1 (+700).

According to Teamrankings.com, the Jackson State Tigers are the team with the shortest odds to advance to the championship game and win the tournament despite being the conference regular season co-champions.  They have a predicted 34.73% chance to presumably beat 3-seed Texas Southern in the semifinals, and would have a 16.55% chance to win the tournament presumably against Prairie View A&M.  They have played two competitive games against UAPB this season winning by eight and six points, which will make for an interesting opening round contest.  With a victory, they will meet 3-seed Texas Southern whom they did not face during the regular season along with Prairie View. No easy roads to glory for the Tigers.

According to ESPNW, Jackson State is the favorite to win based on the strength of SWAC Player of the Year Dayzsha Rogan and SWAC Defensive Player of the Year Ameshya Williams. But, given the games between JSU and Alabama State this year, who have also have a dynamic duo in All-SWAC first-team players Shmya Ward and Ayana Emmanuel, the odds should be JSU 3/2 (+150) and ASU 2/1 (+200).

#2 Alabama State 14-3 (14-3), BCSN #3 vs. #7 Texas Southern 5-9 (4-8), Noon EST, ESPN3.  

via https://bamastatesports.com - Alabama State (14-3) and Texas Southern faced each other twice during the regular season with the Lady Hornets winning both matchups. In the first meeting between the two teams, Alabama State held a two-point lead at the intermissions before they were able to open things up in the second half to pull away for a 74-62 victory. In the opener, Jayla Crawford paced four players in doubles as she poured in 22 points on 8-for-10 shooting from the floor.

The two teams met in Montgomery in late February with Texas Southern grabbing a nine-point halftime lead before Alabama State used a strong second half to pull away for an 81-73 victory. Crawford and Shmya Ward each finished with 21 points in the win, with Ward finishing with a double-double as she grabbed 10 rebounds.  The meeting will be the first time the two teams have met three times in the same season since the 2017-18 season and will be the ninth all-time the two teams have met at least three times in one season. 

via https://gojsutigers.com - The Jackson State Lady Tigers became the SWAC Regular Season Champions in back-to-back years after defeating Alabama State in a thrilling 64-62 victory in dramatic fashion.  In the pervious meeting versus MVSU, JSU won by a final score of 74-48 in SWAC play. Dayzsha Rogan led JSU with 24 points scored on the night with four three-pointers made on the night. The Lady Tigers outscored MVSU 19-12 in the first quarter and 20-7 in the second quarter to take a 39-19 lead into the break. Jackson State then combined for 35 points compared to MVSU's 19 points, to ultimately hand MVSU a 74-48 loss in SWAC play. Keshuna Luckett finished with 12 points and 3-of-4 shooting from the field, including four rebounds and three assists. Ameshya Williams finished with 12 points and eight rebounds, shooting 6-of-8 from the field. Jackson State finished 30-for-53 from the field with eight three-pointers made on the night. JSU improved to 12-5 overall and 11-1 in SWAC play. 

#2 Jackson State 11-5 (11-0), BCSN #4 vs. #7 Arkansas-Pine Bluff 4-20 (3-12), 3pm EST, ESPN3 

via https://gojsutigers.com and https://uapblionsroar.com - Jackson State finished the season undefeated in SWAC play with a 79-54 win over over Alabama State on Saturday to claim the regular season SWAC Championship.  Today's game will be the first on a neutral court at UAB's Bartow Arena after both regular season, closely contested matchups were played in Jackson. The Tigers won at home 63-55 on Feb. 1 and 64-58 in overtime at JSU on March 1 in a game that was relocated to JSU due to water pressure issues in Pine Bluff in the aftermath of February's winter storm in Central Arkansas. 

In the first meeting, neither team led in double-digits until JSU reach the margin with just over five minutes remaining in a game that features six lead changes and two ties in the second half. In last Monday's rematch, neither team led by 10+ points. UAPB limited JSU to 4-of-24 shooting from three-point range in a game that features 12 ties and 12 lead changes.  Jackson State outscored Arkansas-Pine Bluff 8-2 in the overtime period and the Tigers prevailed 64-58.  

via https://pvpanthers.com - Prairie View A&M defeated Mississippi Valley State twice this season, in route to an undefeated SWAC regular season campaign.  On January 23, the Panthers defeated the Delta Devils 77-31 in Itta Bena, MS.  On February 27, PVAMU beat MVSU 82-62.  Despite leading from the opening tip, the Panthers struggled to get on track offensively, shooting just 33 percent from the field during the initial 10 minutes of play. However, the Panthers harassed the Delta Devils into numerous mistakes, cashing in with transition offense.

Business picked up for the Panthers as back-to-back three-pointers keyed a 17-1 run that put the Panthers up by as many as 18. The Delta Devils made a charge to pull within eight, but the Panthers regrouped to carry a 45-30 advantage into the break.  The Delta Devils pulled within nine to begin the second half, but the Panthers refused to let them back in it, as a 20-7 Panthers run ensured victory down the stretch.