2026 SWAC men's basketball tournament
| 2026 SWAC men's basketball tournament | |
|---|---|
| Classification | Division I |
| Season | 2025–26 |
| Teams | 12 |
| Site | Gateway Center Arena College Park, Georgia |
| Champions | Prairie View A&M (3rd title) |
| Winning coach | Byron Smith (2nd title) |
| MVP | Dontae Horne (Prairie View A&M) |
| Television | ESPN+ and ESPNU |
| Conf. | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | W | L | PCT | W | L | PCT | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bethune–Cookman | 14 | – | 4 | .778 | 17 | – | 15 | .531 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Florida A&M | 11 | – | 7 | .611 | 15 | – | 16 | .484 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Southern | 11 | – | 7 | .611 | 17 | – | 17 | .500 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Texas Southern | 10 | – | 8 | .556 | 12 | – | 18 | .400 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Alabama A&M | 10 | – | 8 | .556 | 18 | – | 15 | .545 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Arkansas–Pine Bluff | 10 | – | 8 | .556 | 13 | – | 19 | .406 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Jackson State | 10 | – | 8 | .556 | 12 | – | 21 | .364 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Prairie View A&M † | 9 | – | 9 | .500 | 19 | – | 18 | .514 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Grambling State | 7 | – | 11 | .389 | 14 | – | 19 | .424 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Alabama State | 7 | – | 11 | .389 | 10 | – | 22 | .313 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Alcorn State | 7 | – | 11 | .389 | 9 | – | 23 | .281 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Mississippi Valley State | 2 | – | 16 | .111 | 3 | – | 30 | .091 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| † 2026 SWAC tournament winner | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The 2026 SWAC Men's Basketball Tournament was the postseason men's basketball tournament for the 2025–26 season in the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC). The tournament was held from March 9–14, 2026 at Gateway Center Arena in College Park, Georgia.[1][2] The tournament winner, Prairie View A&M, received the conference's automatic invitation to the 2026 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament.
Seeds
Teams were seeded by record within the conference, with a tie–breaker system to seed teams with identical conference records. All 12 teams in the conference participated in the tournament.[3]
| Seed | School | Conference | Tiebreaker 1[4] | Tiebreaker 2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bethune–Cookman | 14–4 | ||
| 2 | Florida A&M | 11–7 | 2–0 vs. Southern | |
| 3 | Southern | 11–7 | 0–2 vs. Florida A&M | |
| 4 | Texas Southern | 10–8 | 3–2 vs. AAMU/UAPB/JSU | |
| 5 | Alabama A&M | 10–8 | 2–2 vs. TXSO/UAPB/JSU | 2–0 vs. Florida A&M |
| 6 | Arkansas–Pine Bluff | 10–8 | 3–3 vs. TXSO/AAMU/JSU | 0–1 vs. Florida A&M |
| 7 | Jackson State | 10–8 | 2–3 vs. TXSO/AAMU/JSU | |
| 8 | Prairie View A&M | 9–9 | ||
| 9 | Grambling State | 7–11 | 3–0 vs. Alabama State/Alcorn State | |
| 10 | Alabama State | 7–11 | 1–2 vs. Grambling State/Alcorn State | |
| 11 | Alcorn State | 7–11 | 0–2 vs. Grambling State/Alabama State | |
| 12 | Mississippi Valley State | 2–16 |
Schedule
| Game | Time* | Matchup# | Score | Television | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First round – Monday, March 9 | |||||
| 1 | 2:00 p.m. | No. 10 Alabama State vs. No. 11 Alcorn State | 65–77 | ESPN+ | |
| 2 | 8:30 p.m. | No. 9 Grambling State vs. No. 12 Mississippi Valley State | 77–52 | ||
| Second round – Tuesday, March 10 | |||||
| 3 | 2:00 p.m. | No. 8 Prairie View A&M vs. No. 11 Alcorn State | 65–56 | ESPN+ | |
| 4 | 8:30 p.m. | No. 7 Jackson State vs. No. 9 Grambling State | 68–65 | ||
| Quarterfinals – Wednesday, March 11 | |||||
| 5 | 2:00 p.m. | No. 1 Bethune–Cookman vs. No. 8 Prairie View A&M | 67–71 | ESPN+ | |
| 6 | 8:30 p.m. | No. 2 Florida A&M vs. No. 7 Jackson State | 70–60 | ||
| Quarterfinals – Thursday, March 12 | |||||
| 7 | 2:00 p.m. | No. 4 Texas Southern vs. No. 5 Alabama A&M | 74–85OT | ESPN+ | |
| 8 | 8:30 p.m. | No. 3 Southern vs. No. 6 Arkansas–Pine Bluff | 84–81 | ||
| Semifinals – Friday, March 13 | |||||
| 9 | 2:00 p.m. | No. 5 Alabama A&M vs. No. 8 Prairie View A&M | 55–74 | ESPN+ | |
| 10 | 8:30 p.m. | No. 2 Florida A&M vs. No. 3 Southern | 70–73 | ||
| Championship – Saturday, March 14 | |||||
| 11 | 7:30 p.m. | No. 3 Southern vs. No. 8 Prairie View A&M | 66–72 | ESPNU | |
| *Game times in EST. #-Rankings denote tournament seeding.[5] | |||||
Bracket
| First round March 9, 2026 ESPN+ | Second round March 10, 2026 ESPN+ | Quarterfinals March 11–12, 2026 ESPN+ | Semifinals March 13, 2026 ESPN+ | Championship March 14, 2026 ESPNU | |||||||||||||||||||
| 1 | Bethune–Cookman | 67 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 8 | Prairie View A&M | 65 | 8 | Prairie View A&M | 71 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 10 | Alabama State | 65 | 11 | Alcorn State | 56 | 8 | Prairie View A&M | 74 | |||||||||||||||
| 11 | Alcorn State | 77 | 5 | Alabama A&M | 55 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 4 | Texas Southern | 74 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 5 | Alabama A&M | 85* | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 8 | Prairie View A&M | 72 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Southern | 66 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Florida A&M | 70 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 7 | Jackson State | 68 | 7 | Jackson State | 60 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 9 | Grambling State | 77 | 9 | Grambling State | 65 | 2 | Florida A&M | 70 | |||||||||||||||
| 12 | Mississippi Valley State | 52 | 3 | Southern | 73 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Southern | 84 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 6 | Arkansas–Pine Bluff | 81 | |||||||||||||||||||||
* denotes overtime period
Awards and honors
All-Tournament team
| Player | Team |
|---|---|
| Koron Davis | Alabama A&M |
| Tyler Shirley | Florida A&M |
| Michael Jacobs | Southern |
| Lance Williams | Prairie View A&M |
| Dontae Horne |
MVP in bold
Source: [6]
References
- ^ "2026 SWAC Men's and Women's Basketball Tournaments". swac.org. Retrieved February 5, 2026.
- ^ Suggs, Donnell (March 7, 2025). "MARCH MADNESS: SWAC brings hoops conference tournaments to Atlanta". The Atlanta Voice. Retrieved February 5, 2026.
- ^ Keith, J. T. "SWAC expands its basketball tournaments, adds technology for football teams on game day". The Clarion-Ledger. Retrieved December 25, 2024.
- ^ "SWAC Basketball Tiebreaker Policy". SWAC.org. SWAC.
- ^ "2026 SWAC Men's Basketball Tournament FINAL (PDF) - Southwestern Athletic Conference" (PDF). swac.org.
- ^ "Prairie View A&M Claims SWAC Tournament Title". swac.org. March 14, 2026. Retrieved March 16, 2026.