Alabama State rallies to punch ticket for NCAA tourney

The Alabama State University men's basketball team answered the second-half bell like a boxer who had been stung hard in the early rounds. The top-seeded Hornets counter-punched the Jackson State Tigers with a vengeance, though, and battled their way into the NCAA Tournament as Southwestern Athletic Conference champions. ASU came from a bucket down at the half to claim the title 65-58 in front of a raucous Fair Park Arena crowd and a national television audience Saturday night.

Alabama State became the sixth regular-season champ to also take the tournament crown since 1999. The Hornets have twice before advanced to the NCAA Tournament, losing in the opening round to Michigan State in 2001 and to Duke in 2004. ASU's first-round opponent will be announced this afternoon at 5 p.m. on CBS 42. Hornets coach Lewis Jackson said the play-in game in Dayton was a possibility for his 22-9 squad. "I have no control over that," said the fourth-year head coach who went to the NCAA Tournament as an assistant to Rob Spivery in'04. "We have accomplished a lot with our record. We hope that's enough to get us straight in, but we have to do whatever they say."

ASU 7-1/265 center, Chief Kickingstallionsims will be a load for the opponent that the Hornets will face in the "play in" game in Dayton, OH on Tuesday.

After being rocked on their heels as the Tigers dominated the boards in the first half and ran to a 23-13 lead with 2:30 left, the Hornets scrambled back. ASU outscored the Tigers 7-0 in the final 1:33 of the first half that ended with JSU up 25-23 and then claimed its first lead since 13:05 of the opening period with an 11-8 run.

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SWAC tournament full of intriguing matchups

Of the many beautiful things about college basketball in March, one is that teams seem to channel their inner Forrest Gump at the right time. Sure, each conference has its share of dominant teams and standout players, and usually, those favorites prevail in their postseason tournaments. Still, from league to league and game to game, there’s that element of surprise a budding star or an upset no one saw coming. As Gump himself would put it, you never know what you’re gonna get.

Its only fitting, then, that the champion of the Southwestern Athletic Conference tournaments must win three games in Gump’s home state. Both tournaments begin Wednesday at Fair Park Arena in Birmingham, Ala. Here’s a quick look at people, games and teams to watch for when the madness gets under way.

Women

Most intriguing first-round matchup: It’s a little bit of an upset to call a No. 2-No. 7 matchup the best. It might not be the best. But it could be the most intriguing. Second-seeded Southern and seventh-seeded Texas Southern have plenty in common. They split their regular-season series, with each team winning at home. And they both believe in playing defense first.

Most dangerous player: The kneejerk reaction is to go with the highest-ranking scorer left in the tournament which, in this case, is Alabama A&M’s Katrich Williams, who averages 13.8 points per game, but it’s worth noting that Gaati Werema, the 6-foot junior forward from Prairie View, ranks seventh in the SWAC in scoring (11.7 points per game), first in rebounds (7.5 per game) and second in field-goal percentage (47.7).

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