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SWAC Basketball: 2021 Conference Tournament preview and predictions

By Daniel Benjamin

NEWARK, NJ - DECEMBER 22: Head coach Byron Smith of the Prairie View A&M Panthers in action against the Seton Hall Pirates during a college basketball game at Prudential Center on December 22, 2019 in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images)
NEWARK, NJ - DECEMBER 22: Head coach Byron Smith of the Prairie View A&M Panthers in action against the Seton Hall Pirates during a college basketball game at Prudential Center on December 22, 2019 in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Rich Schultz/Getty Images) /
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Randy Onwuasor Christian McCoggle Texas Southern Tigers (Photo by John Weast/Getty Images)
Randy Onwuasor Christian McCoggle Texas Southern Tigers (Photo by John Weast/Getty Images) /

The Contenders

I truly believe this tournament is pretty wide open and could be won by any of the top five seeds. However, the No. 1 seed has won three of the past five conference tournaments, and only once in this stretch that a top 3 seed has not come out victorious. In fact, only once since 2012 has a team seeded lower than a four seed has reached the SWAC championship game.

Prairie View A&M

PV enters the SWAC Tournament on a conference-best 13 game winning streak, and the Panthers do an excellent job sharing the basketball, and they have been extremely efficient on both ends of the court. Daniels leads four players averaging at least nine points a game.

Prairie View also has the SWAC’s best NET (190) and RPI (137) ratings. PV, 1-1 on a neutral court, has the best loss of the year — falling to TCU (66-61). The Panthers had a league-best +7.2 point differential which balloons up to over 14 points during conference play.

Strengths: Experience, Sharing the ball, Defense, Forcing turnovers, and Defending the 3-point line.

Weakness: Getting to the free-throw line and keeping teams off the free-throw line.

Jackson State

JSU has won 11 straight games as the Tigers have the league’s best defense as well as the conference’s top scorer (Jarrett) and rebounder (McKinnis). The Tigers have a +14.9 scoring margin during SWAC games. However, Jackson State has a NET rating of just 257 and RPI 187 as the Tigers didn’t fare well in non-conference play.

Strengths: Ball-handling, Defense, Getting to the free-throw line, Forcing Turnovers, Offensive, and Defensive rebounding. Defending 3-point line.

Weakness: Free throw shooting and defensive fouls.

Texas Southern

TSU closed out the season playing its best basketball of the season, winning six straight. The Tigers play at a net-breaking speed and, as a result, is the conference’s highest-scoring squad. They shoot the ball decently well, but besides playing their style, the Tigers rebound the ball on both ends effectively. Texas Southern, led by Weathers, has four players averaging double-figures. Former Georgetown Hoya Galen Alexander could end up being the key here as he is the team’s top 3-point threat.

Texas Southern has a +7.7 scoring margin during conference play. TSU’s NET is 230, and its RPI is 151. The Tigers’ three conference losses were by a combined 12 points, including two setbacks to Prairie View and one to Grambling.

Strengths: Tempo, Forcing Turnovers, Offense, Offensive Rebounding, Not Fouling, Rim Protection.

Weakness: 3-point shooting.