LUT WILLIAMS BCSP Editor
Men’s and women’s tournament champions of the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) were in play-in (First Four) games early this week while men’s and women’s tournament champions from the Mid Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) have first round games later in the week as play begins in their respective NCAA “Big Dance” Div. I national tournaments.
SWAC Champs
SWAC men’s champion Alabama State was the first to see action as third-year head coach Tony Madlock’s Hornets (19-15) met Northeast Conference (NEC) champion Saint Francis (16-17) Tuesday in the men’s South Region First Four game in Dayton, Ohio.
The two teams were upset winners of their conference tournaments. ASU won the SWAC tournament as the sixth seed (see TOURNAMENT FINALS RECAPS) while St. Francis prevailed in the NEC as a third seed. This will be ASU’s fifth trip to the Big Dance but first under Madlock.
The winner of the ASU/SFU match up Tuesday will play region and men’s overall top seed Auburn (28-5) Thursday (1:50 p.m., ESPN) in Lexington, Kentucky.
Despite prevailing in the SWAC women’s tournament as the top seed, seventh-year head coach Carlos Funchess’s Jaguars of Southern (20-14) were placed in the Spokane 1 Region First Four and faced Big West Conference tournament champion UC San Diego (20-15) Wednesday in Los Angeles. UCSD won the Big West tourney as a fourth-seed.
This is Southern’s sixth appearance and third under Funchess.
Awaiting their winner on Friday (7 p.m., ESPN) is region and women’s overall top seed, Big Ten tournament champion UCLA (30-2).
MEAC Champs
MEAC men’s tournament champion Norfolk State (24-10) prevailed as the top seed but still was given a tough date Friday (6:50 p.m., TNT) against West Region top seed and SEC tournament champion Florida (30-4).
NSU 12th-year head coach Robert Jones is bringing his third team to the Big Dance and looking for their first win. This is NSU’s fourth trip to the tournament.
After earning its third straight MEAC tournament title and NCAA berth as the top seed under ninth-year head coach Larry Vickers, Norfolk State (30-4) got their best seed ever, 13th in the Birmingham 2 Regional. It’s the highest ranking for an HBCU since MEAC champion Hampton was seeded 12th in 2014.
The Lady Spartans play at No. 4 Maryland MEAC Champs (23-7) Saturday (4 p.m., ESPN). Maryland lost to Michigan in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Tournament last week.
The Spartans earned their seeding.
NSU has won 19 consecutive games, went 17-0 vs. MEAC competition and has wins over SEC programs Auburn (63-57) and Missouri (57-54) this season.
The Spartans lost to three teams in the NCAA Tournament.
They fell at NCAA Tourney No. 5 seed Alabama (68-58), to NCAA tourney 12-seed and Horizon League champion Green Bay (55-54) in Puerto Rico, at ACC champion, 27-7 North Carolina (90-47), the No. 3 seed out of the Birmingham 2 Region and to Washington State (68-60), a West Coast Conference tournament semifinalist and WNIT selectee.
