SWAC
The SWAC tournament winner has received a 16-seed in all but one NCAA Tournament since 1998, with the lone exception being when Texas Southern got a 15 in the 2015 dance.
Texas Southern missed the NCAA Tournament after making seven of the previous nine NCAA Tournaments — and three straight — but returns its top two rebounders from last season and was 96th in points allowed on a per possession basis last season.
Despite making just two of the past 17 NCAA Tournaments, Southern was won at least 10 conference games in 12 of the past 13 seasons and while Southern was just 315th in rebound rate, they bring back their point guard from a team that was ninth in turnovers forced per possession on defense and fourth in points allowed on a per possession basis last season.
Only two teams in the conference ranked in the top 260 in points scored on a per possession basis with Prairie View taking advantage on defense, ranking eighth in turnovers forced on a per possession basis last season — and finishing top nine in this category for the fifth time in the past seven seasons.
Perennial punching bag Mississippi Valley State has won nine games or fewer in 12 straight seasons and ranked last in the nation in points scored on a per possession basis and 358th in points allowed on a per possession basis.
Grambling has finished first in SWAC play each of the past two seasons and brings back both last season’s leader in points and rebounds. The team made its first ever NCAA Tournament last season.
This is an uptempo conference with 10 of the 12 teams finishing 142nd or faster in total possessions per game with most of these teams having to replace teams ravaged by transfers, including Alcorn State, which finished in the top two in the SWAC standings each of the past three seasons but must replace last season’s top six scorers.
