After lengthy wait, SWAC tournament set to begin

DALLAS, Texas  --  With the regular season in the Southwestern Athletic Conference having ended March 2, teams competing in the men’s and women’s tournaments this week may have to begin their postseason by knocking off rust.

The SWAC generally holds its tournaments on the heels of the regular season but pushed them back this year because several schools had midterm exams last week.

Ten teams in the women’s tournament and seven in the men’s will look to march on to the NCAA tournament by winning the SWAC tournament and receiving the league’s automatic NCAA bid. All action, for the third straight year, will be at the Curtis Culwell Center in Garland, Texas.



Both title games are Saturday, with the women’s final at noon and the men’s at 3:30 p.m. shown live on ESPN2.

Texas Southern’s men, who beat out Southern and Arkansas-Pine Bluff for first place in the regular season, are ineligible because a postseason ban is part of their NCAA probation. UAPB and Mississippi Valley are ineligible because of APR-related penalties.

Southern is the No. 1 seed in the men’s bracket. Jackson State, which finished .500 in league play, had the No. 2 seed.

All of the teams will compete in the women’s tournament, led by regular-season champion Texas Southern.

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