2009 SWAC Tournament Predictions

Written by Jimmy Boyd on March 10, 2009

swac 31009The 2009 Southwestern Athletic Conference Men’s Basketball Tournament tips off March 11th and goes through the 14th with all the action taking place at Fair Park Arena in Birmingham, Alabama. Only the top eight teams in this 10 team conference get a chance to compete for automatic entry into the NCAA Tournament so that means that Grambling State and Alcorn state will be forced to sit this one out. The Alabama State Hornets have earned the No. 1 seed for the second straight season, but they did not put it to good use in 2008, losing in the semifinals to Jackson State. In this predictions article, we’ll take a closer look at the favorite an another team with a great chance at winning this tournament. Bet the 2009 SWAC Men’s Basketball Tournament at Bookmaker.

The Favorite: Alabama State Hornets
The Hornets won the SWAC regular season title with a 16-2 mark to edge out Jackson State by a game. The Tigers are no doubt Bama State’s biggest competition as the two teams split the regular season series with a pair of very close contests. The Hornets come in red hot, having won 10 of their last 11 with that one loss coming to Jackson State. That opens up a nice revenge factor which could play to Alabama State’s favor. The Hornets should not be lacking any motivation here as they went home early with a loss to Jackson State in the semifinals of this tournament a season ago. The Hornets want to be dancing. There’s no other way to say it. It’s the Brandon Brooks show for the Hornets, leading them in points (14.2), rebounds (4.1), assists (6.8), and steals (1.4).

Another Team That Can Win: Jackson State Tigers
I feel strongly that it is a two team race for the title so we should see the Tigers face off with the Hornets in the championship game. Jackson State has some unfinished business to take care of in this tournament as well as it went down by 1 point in last year’s championship game to Mississippi Valley State. The Tigers enter the tournament on fire, having won 11 of their last 12. The Tigers started the season just 1-12, but that was because it undertook a very challenging non-conference schedule which included games with LSU, Texas A&M, Illinois, Arizona State, Kansas, Providence, and Baylor. Playing this tough early season competition had the Tigers ready to roll through the SWAC from the word go. What Brandon Brooks is to Alabama State, Grant Maxey is to Jackson State. The 6’6” forward leads the team in scoring (16.2), Rebounding (6.7), steals (1.6), and blocks (.9).

2008 SWAC Tournament Recap:
No. 2 seed Mississippi Valley State took down, Grambling State, Arkansas Pine-Bluff, and edged out Jackson State by 1 point on its way to taking home the hardware and earning a NCAA Tournament berth. Unfortunately, MVSU was slaughtered 70-29 by UCLA in the first round.

Jimmy Boyd’s NCAA basketball picks will guide you to more winners against the college basketball odds this basketball betting season.