SWAC Basketball: 2022 Conference Tournament preview and predictions

Favorite to win SWAC Basketball Tournament

This year, just like any other, the SWAC tournament is up for grabs to any seed, one through eight. With that being said, the hottest team entering tournament play is none other than the number one seeded Alcorn State Braves. Winners of ten of their last twelve, the Braves took the outright conference championship after being picked to finish seventh in the league.

In just his second season at the helm, Landon Bussie has helped the Braves to their best conference record since 2002. Credit must go to Bussie for keeping the morale high after a 1-11 start, mainly due to an extremely tough non-conference schedule, the second-best in the nation in fact.

This Alcorn State team is tested and poised to make a run in Birmingham behind gradate student Justin Thomas, who has been a double-digit scorer in each of the last four games, and a career-high 10 assists last time out. Transfer Keondre Montgomery is coming off of his best shooting performance of the season and fellow transfer Darrious Agnew did not miss a shot this past Saturday. The Braves rank first in the league in offensive efficiency with multiple guys capable of filling it up.

The one worry for the Braves might be their lack of height, with no player on the roster listed above 6-8, but with an even distribution of minutes across the roster, coach Landon Bussie has the capability to throw different lineups out there, to mix up looks for the opposition.

Bracketology

The winner of the SWAC will must likely be playing in Dayton as a play in 16 seed. ESPN’s bracketologist Joe Linardi has Alcorn State as the winner of the SWAC and a date with Southland champion Nichols State in the round of 68 in his latest bracket prediction released Monday. CBS Sports’ Jerry Palm has Alcorn State matching up with Northeast Conference winner Bryant in the round of 68 in his latest prediction also released on Monday morning. Of course, these are all projections at this point, but it seems as though whoever ends up being the SWAC champion will head to Dayton, as recent history tells us.

March means Madness and there is sure to be some come Wednesday and beyond in Birmingham, AL at the SWAC tournament. Despite being the outright champions, Alcorn State comes in with a chip on their shoulder as oddsmakers do not have them as the tournament favorites. Seeking their first tournament appearance since 2002, this could be the Braves’ year. But eighth-seeded Prairie View A&M waits in the wings looking to spoil things.

College basketball fans will have their pick on what to watch over the next week, but they’d be smart to consider heeding to what is promised to be a hectic SWAC tournament.