SWAC Tournament 2023 Odds, Schedule, Previews & Predictions
- The Grambling State Tigers are the +100 favorites to win the SWAC Tournament championship
- Top-seed Alcorn State is the second betting choice at +400
- See the 2023 SWAC Tournament odds, predictions, and betting trends
The SWAC Tournament certainly appears to be shaping up as a two-school contest between the Alcorn State Braves and Grambling Tigers. However, even though Alcorn State took the regular-season title and top seed for the tourney, it’s the Tigers that oddsmakers are holding up as the favorite here.
Grambling, the #2 seed, is set as a +100 favorite to earn the SWAC Tournament title. Alcorn State is the second betting choice at +400.
2023 SWAC Tournament Odds
| School | Odds |
|---|---|
| Grambling | +100 |
| Alcorn State | +400 |
| Southern University | +800 |
| Prairie View | +850 |
| Jackson State | +1200 |
| Texas Southern | +1300 |
| Alabama A&M | +1300 |
| Bethune-Cookman | +5000 |
This is not a tournament where you want to be playing value. Picking a winner of the SWAC Tournament is as easy as 1-2-3. Six of the past 10 tourneys were won by the #1 seed. There’s a pair of wins each by the #2 and #3 seeds over that time frame.
You have to go back to the 2010-11 tournament, when #4 Alabama State beat #6 Grambling in the final, to find one when the form charts went off the rails.
No SWAC school is given a betting line in the March Madness odds. In the projected March Madness bracket, Grambling is assigned a First Four placing in order to earn the #16 seed in the South Region.
Odds as of March 6 at DraftKings Sportsbook.
SWAC Tournament Format
Unlike many of the NCAA men’s basketball conference tournaments, there are no byes in the SWAC Tournament. Just eight of the 12 SWAC schools qualify for the tourney, so the format begins with quarterfinal matchups.
This season, Alabama State, Arkansas Pine-Bluff, Florida A&M and Mississippi Valley State were the unfortunate quartet that did not qualify for the SWAC Tournament.
The only advantage to the top two seeds is that they will play their quarterfinal games on Wednesday, March 8. Assuming they win, that will be presenting the opportunity for #1 Alcorn State and #2 Grambling to enjoy an off-day from competition prior to the March 10 semifinal games. The other pair of quarterfinal contests are slated for March 9.
All four quarterfinal games plus both semifinal games are being streamed on ESPN+. Television broadcast for the Saturday, March 11 championship game at 5:30 pm ET will be carried by ESPNU.
Back-to-Back Titles for Alcorn State
Alcorn State are SWAC regular-season champions for the second year in a row. However, it’s been a long time since the Braves were home to the SWAC Tournament title.
In 2001-02, Alcorn State swept the regular-season and tournament championships. Coming into last year’s SWAC Tournament as the #1 seed, Alcorn State was dumped 87-62 by #2 seed Texas Southern in the final.
Congratulations to the Alcorn State Braves (@BRAVESSPORTS) for being named 2023 SWAC Men’s Basketball Regular Season Co-Champions #SWACMBB #BuildingChampionsForLife pic.twitter.com/h5ed61a4UX
— Southwestern Athletic Conference (@theswac) March 5, 2023
Interestingly enough, the Braves are facing a rematch with Texas Southern in the quarterfinals. Although TSU has won four of the past five SWAC tournament titles, this year the Tigers are the #8 seed after an 11-20 regular season that included a 7-11 conference slate.
History could be repeating itself, though, for the Braves. Grambling at #2 is a dangerous threat. Alcorn State is just 18-12 overall this season. The Braves are #5 in the conference in scoring offense (68.3) and defense (70.8) and #6 in rebounding (34.1). Alcorn State is showing a negative scoring margin of -2.5 points this season.
Long Wait for Grambling
Basketball titles are hard to come by for Grambling. The Tigers have never won the SWAC Tournament. They were regular-season champions in 2017-18. That was Grambling’s first conference win in men’s basketball since 1990. However, the Tigers were ineligible for postseason play in 2017-18 due to APR violations.
Grambling (22-8) has won nine games in a row since dropping a 63-60 decision to Alcorn State. That verdict, though, cost the Tigers the top seeding for the SWAC Tournament. While both schools finished 15-3 in conference play, Alcorn State’s win in head-to-head play was the tiebreaker for top seed.
Congratulations to the Grambling State Tigers (@GSU_TIGERS) for being named 2023 SWAC Men’s Basketball Regular Season Co-Champions #SWACMBB #BuildingChampionsForLife pic.twitter.com/BaIgw0dwc4
— Southwestern Athletic Conference (@theswac) March 5, 2023
Grambling is the #1 scoring defense in the conference, allowing 61.7 points per game. The Tigers also own a conference-best scoring making of 6.7 ppg. They’re #2 in the SWAC in rebounding, pulling down 36.1 boards per game.
In conference play, forward Carte’are Gordon owns the best field goal percentage (.560) and is fourth in rebounding (7.0 rebounds per game). Guard Cameron Christon is ninth in SWAC scoring, averaging 12.9 ppg.
Pick: Grambling Tigers (+100)
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An industry veteran, Bob literally taught the course on the history of sports at Elder College. He has worked as a Sports Columnist for Postmedia, appeared as a guest on several radio stations, was the Vice President of the Society For International Hockey Research in Ontario, and written 25 books.
