2025 SWAC Conference Basketball Tournament

The SWAC Conference Tournament has a new home this year, as it will be played at the Gateway Center Arena in College Park, GA. After several years in Houston, the tournament moved to Birmingham and had been held at Bartow Arena each of the last five years. The UAB Blazers play at Bartow and it holds over 8,500 people. This arena only holds 3,500 for basketball, so it may help scoring a bit to have some better sightlines.

Ten of the conference’s 12 members qualify for this tournament, so Mississippi Valley State and Arkansas Pine-Bluff did not make it. Southern had the top seed wrapped up before the final week of the regular season. The winner will head to Dayton for one of the play-in games.

 

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One other note – don’t worry about the year-to-date stats or records for these teams as much as worrying about conference-only numbers. Many of these programs really schedule up in the non-conference to fund the athletic department with “paycheck games”, so there are a lot of early-season blowouts and ugly records.

How to Watch the SWAC Conference Tournament

When: March 11-15

Where: Gateway Center Arena in College Park, GA

Format: Top six seeds get byes to Quarterfinals; staggered Quarterfinals schedule with No. 1 and No. 2 seeds on Wednesday, Semifinals on Friday

Watch: ESPN+, ESPNU; Championship Game on TBD on Mar. 15 at 9:30 p.m. ET

College Basketball Odds | College Basketball Betting Splits | Greg Peterson’s Daily Lines | Steve Makinen’s Power Ratings

SWAC Conference Tournament Bracket

SWAC Conference Tournament Seeds, Teams and Odds

1. Southern (+165)

2. Jackson State (+370)

3. Bethune-Cookman (+650)

4. Texas Southern (+600)

5. Alabama State (+650)

6. Alcorn State (+1200)

7. Florida A&M (+1800)

8. Grambling State (+3500)

9. Alabama A&M (+30000)

10. Prairie View A&M (+18000)

(odds from DraftKings Sportsbook accurate at time of publish)

Favorite To Win SWAC Conference Tournament

Southern is the clear favorite to win this year’s SWAC Tournament. The Jaguars are the only top-250 team from the conference according to both Bart Torvik and KenPom. They are also the only team with a record higher than one game above .500, as they went 15-3 in league play after a 5-8 start to the season with losses to Iowa, Ole Miss, USC, and Nebraska, but they did beat Louisiana Tech and Tulsa.

In terms of conference-only metrics, the Jags were the top team by adjusted defensive efficiency, TO%, 3P% offense, DRB%, and FT Rate, which is important in a conference where a lot of fouls get called. This is a sloppy, inefficient conference with a lot of turnovers and Southern was the top team at forcing them.

Jackson State actually led the conference in adjusted offensive efficiency and ranked third in both 2P% and 3P%, making them the clear second choice.

SWAC Conference Tournament Darkhorse

There are a couple of teams that pique my interest here. The first is Florida A&M, who really played well for a prolonged stretch of games before flaming out late in the season, losing four of their last five. However, three of those losses were by five combined points, including a three-point home loss to Southern. After an 0-3 start in league play, Patrick Crarey’s Rattlers won nine of the next 10.

The other team is Alcorn State. The Braves were fifth in both adjusted offensive and defensive efficiency. They’re the best offensive rebounding team in the conference as well. The Braves lost their only game against Southern and lost twice to Jackson State. Florida A&M beat Jackson State twice and should draw them in the Quarterfinals. I do think Alcorn State beats Bethune-Cookman in the Quarterfinals, for what it’s worth, but I’d prefer the Rattlers if we did get a 6 vs. 7 Semifinal.

Players to Watch in SWAC Conference Tournament

You can get a lot of high-usage, inefficient players in this conference that simply score based on volume. For example, third-leading scorer Trey Thomas from Bethune-Cookman averaged 16.5 PPG in the regular season, but only shot 38.1% from the floor. Sterling Young from Florida A&M is the leading scorer of teams that qualified for the tournament with 17 PPG, but he, too, only shot 43.9%. Milton Matthews of the Rattlers had 14.4 PPG, but shot 40.9%.

Alabama State is led by three top-10 scorers in Amarr Knox (15 PPG, 41.2%), CJ Hines (14.2 PPG, 42.2%), and TJ Madlock (12.9 PPG, 43.9%). You can definitely see a theme here in this conference. Interestingly, Southern only has one scorer in double figures in Michael Jacobs (11.3 PPG). Jackson State has four, but nobody higher than 10.8 PPG.

Eight players averaged at least 10 FG attempts per game. Their FG% in order of shot attempts? 38.1%, 44.3%, 41.2%, 37.7%, 43.9%, 42.2%, 40.9%, 36.3%. There are a lot of jump shots, a lot of bad shots, and a lot of players that fill the stat sheet by frequency, not efficiency.

Betting Pick to Win The SWAC Conference Tournament

Southern is the rightful favorite, though depending on who wins the 4/5 matchup between Texas Southern and Alabama State, the Semifinal game could be interesting, as the Hornets beat Southern twice during the regular season. Meanwhile, Southern beat Texas Southern both times.

I really do think Florida A&M is live here at 18/1. They led the conference in eFG% and their defensive efficiency numbers were hurt by not forcing turnovers in a conference full of them. Despite the potential for variance in a conference like this, it has been pretty chalky, except for Texas Southern winning as the No. 8 seed two years ago. But, I think the Rattlers are worth a long shot here as they’re in the tourney for the first time since 2022.

Pick: Florida A&M +1800

Steve Makinen SWAC Power Ratings

  • The SWAC tournament has proven to be quite chalky over the last eight years, with favorites of 3 points or more on a 32-7 SU and 25-12-2 ATS (67.6%) run.
  • SWAC semifinal favorites boast a record of 16-3 SU and 13-5-1 ATS (72.2%) since 2014.
  • Favorites in the SWAC title game are on a 2-10 ATS (16.7%) skid and have lost four of the last five outright.

More Steve Makinen Conference Tournament Betting Trends.

Check out the other previews in our 2025 College Basketball Conference Tournament Betting Guide.

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