SWAC Basketball: Grambling State rises to the top in latest power rankings
Greetings to all, it's CWells your tour guide around the SWAC. The end of the season is rapidly approaching and the SWAC race is still a jumbled mess from spots 1 to 10. I feel that with 5 games left, the dust won't settle on any race until the final day of the regular season. There are 10 teams fighting for 8 spots, I really do feel as if this season is just a big game of musical chairs. Two teams will be without a seat when the music stops on March 9th.
Taking a broad look at this week's rankings, there weren't any big jumps up the rankings as most teams just moved up a spot or two. But on the flipside, Bethune-Cookman took a huge 6-spot fall after a 0-2 weekend. I guess my article last week jinxed them. The most important place in any ranking is first place. And this week we have a new number-one team. Sadly the last two spots have been the most consistent as spots 11 and 12 haven't changed in a while. I'm still holding out hope that Mississippi Valley breaks its long losing streak. Let's all hold hands and get positive energy going for the Delta Devils.
12. Mississippi Valley State SWAC: 0-13 (Last Week: 12) (Last Weekend's Record: 0-2) (Upcoming Games: 2/24 vs TSU 2/26 vs PVU)
The Misery continues for the Delta Devils as they lost their 13th straight SWAC game (26th overall). With 5 games left time is rapidly running out for a chance to get that elusive win. Neither game was close this weekend, losing to AAMU by 23 and Bama State by 15. The bright spot for this team continues to be Rayquan Brown, on Saturday he scored 38 points, which is the highest total in the league this year. Monday Brown finished with 16 of the team's 46 points. MVSU is the first team eliminated from making the SWAC tournament. The only focus now is to finish strong.
11. Florida A&M SWAC: 2-11 (Last Week: 11) (Last Weekend's Record: 0-2) (Upcoming Games: 2/24 vs AlaSU 2/26 vs AAMU)
The Rattler's tough season continues as they remain in the number 11 spot in the rankings and in the league standings. The Rattlers suffered two double-digit losses on the road in Mississippi. Against JSU nothing went right, losing by 22 points. Shannon Grant led the way with 15 points. Monday's game against Alcorn was similar to many games this year, battling all game to ultimately fall short. Shannon Grant scored another 15 points in the 11-point loss to the Braves. The Rattlers' tournament hopes are very slim and they are dwindling rapidly. I don't think it's a stretch to say they will be home during tourney time.
10. Prairie View A&M SWAC: 5-8 (Last Week: 8) (Last Weekend's Record: 0-2) (Upcoming Games: 2/24 @UAPB 2/26 @MVSU)
The Panthers lost two games at home this weekend, which drops them two spots in the rankings. This had to be a frustrating weekend, losing by 15 total points against the league's top two teams. Against Southern, PVU fell behind big in the second half but battled back to lose by 6. Charles Smith hit 23 points for the Panthers. The Grambling game was tight throughout as the Panthers would not go away until a late Tiger run slammed the door. Javonte Hopkins and Brian Myles both scored 27 points. Myles also had his third double-double in his last 4 games, grabbing 10 boards. The Panthers are down but far from out, this upcoming weekend could determine the Panthers’ tournament fate.