SWAC Basketball: Grambling State, Jackson State tops latest power rankings
Hello Busting Brackets family, it's CWells, your friendly tour guide around the SWAC. I'm enjoying bringing you all great SWAC basketball content. And I decided to create my own SWAC power rankings to give you even more detail about the teams in this league. SWAC basketball can be fun, entertaining, frustrating, and wacky all in one. I like to refer to it as “SWACtion” and I want to share this SWACtion with all of you great peeps. My rankings will be a combination of standings, performance, and my own opinions.
I will continue to provide previews and recaps of big games as well as articles about any interesting SWAC news. So make sure to stay locked in with me all season. So without any further ado, let’s get on to the rankings from number 12 to number 1.
12. Mississippi Valley State SWAC: 0-6 (upcoming games: 1/27 @ Grambling State, 1/29 @ Southern)
Although the Delta Devils have two scorers ranked top 25 in the SWAC (Rayquan Brown 16.7 points per game and Donovan Sanders 10.8 points per game). They have really struggled to stay in games, especially on the road. MVSU is scoring 52.8 points per game, not being able to score has hampered their ability to be competitive. I don't see the Delta Devils being a factor in the race to make the SWAC tournament. After 3 weeks of play they are already hanging on by the skin of their teeth.
11. Florida A&M SWAC: 1-4 (upcoming games: 1/27 vs Alcorn State, 1/29 vs Jackson State)
If it wasn't for MVSU, then the Rattlers would be the bottom of the SWAC barrel. They have been competitive in their 4 losses (losing by an average of 9 points per game). They haven't had much luck on their side scoring over 80 points twice and still coming up short. Led by senior guard Jalen Speer's 19.8 points per game, the Rattlers are the number 2 scoring team in conference play at 76.2 points per game (68.6 ppg overall). Until FAMU can play better defense (47% field goal and 39% 3 point) they will continue to hover around the bottom of the rankings.
10. Prairie View A&M SWAC: 2-3 (upcoming games: 1/27 vs Alabama State, 1/29 vs Alabama A&M)
The Panthers have found themselves on the outside looking in early this season. Other than an upset of Jackson State, they have been blown out in games against conference contenders. PVU is a balanced scoring team led by Charles Smith IV (14.2 points per game). As a team they don't shoot well from deep 30%, this has hurt them in their 3 SWAC losses. The Panthers don't have a lot of size, which causes them to struggle on the boards, a -7.1 rebound margin. These next two games will indicate the trajectory of PV's season. I don’t see this team as a top team or an absolute bottom team, but I can see them easily missing the SWAC tournament.