HOUSTON — Thursday night’s HBCU women’s basketball games in the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) will finally clarify the standings before the regular season finales on Saturday afternoon.
The 2025 Starry SWAC Women’s Basketball Tournament will tip off at Gateway Center Arena in College Park, Georgia, on March 11. Four teams still have a legitimate shot at the regular season title and top seed of the tourney — Southern, Alabama A&M, Texas Southern, and Jackson State.
The Southern Lady Jags and Lady Bulldogs of Alabama A&M may be battling for the title this Saturday in Baton Rouge. The top two leaders must win critical games today to stay ahead of Texas Southern, who is closely pursuing them at No. 3.
Southern will be home hosting the pesky Alabama State Hornets team, which would love to play spoiler. Next, the Lady Bulldogs will face a dangerous Grambling State squad, while Jackson State travels to UAPB for an early 5 PM CT showdown.
Should Southern defeat Alabama State, they will win the regular season crown. However, if the Jags fall to the Hornets, and A&M beats the GSU Tigers, Saturday’s game could settle it all in the SWAC.
Texas Southern has a remote chance if Southern and A&M would lose today’s games. The conference would enforce the tie-breaker rules regarding point differential.
Alcorn State can slip into the Top Five, provided they win the contests against Mississippi Valley State and Pine-Bluff. MSVU has challenging games with Alcorn State and Jackson State.
The NCAA automatic qualifier shall be the winner of the Conference postseason tournament:
In the event the tournament cannot be played or is not played to completion, the Conference regular champion shall be the automatic qualifier.
In the event of a tie for seeding, the following procedures will be used:
Two-team ties:
a). Head-to Head competition.
b). Point Differential between the tied teams if the season series is split.
c). Record against highest seeded team (proceed downward) until the tie is broken.
d). Coin Toss.
Ties involving three or more teams:
a). Record between teams that are tied (Won-Lost-Record).
*If a tie involving two teams still exist within the tiebreaker policy for three or more teams, utilize the head-to-head record to reduce the two tied teams to one.
b). If still tied, record against the highest seed & proceed downward.
c). Coin Toss.
*In the event of a three-way tie or more, after the tie is broken and reduced to two teams, revert back to the two-team tie breaker policy.
A heavily favored Jackson State travels to face Arkansas-Pine Bluff in what promises to be an exciting matchup. Both teams will aim to solidify their positions in the conference standings as the season nears its conclusion.
Alabama State heads to Baton Rouge to take on Southern. This game could prove pivotal for both teams as they seek momentum heading into postseason play.
Alcorn State visits Mississippi Valley State in a conference clash. Both squads will look to capitalize on this opportunity to boost their records and finish strong in SWAC competition.
Alabama A&M faces off against Grambling State in a late evening game. With both teams striving for consistency, this matchup could have significant implications for the conference standings.
