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Top seeds win, advance to NCAAs
Lut Williams
BCSP Editor
Last year, no regular season winners and tournament top seeds won championships in the Mid Eastern Athletic Conference and the Southwestern Athletic Conference basketball tournaments.
This year, they all did.
All four regular season champs and No. 1 tourney seeds the North Carolina A&T women and Morgan State men in the MEAC and Prairie View A&M women and Alabama State men in the SWAC took care of business and completed the difficult sweep, most in dominating fashion Saturday (See FINALS RECAPS). And with their tournament wins each earns automatic bids to the respective NCAA Div. I national tournaments.
In contrast to last year when upsets and buzzer-beaters were the order of the day, each of the champions, with the exception of the Alabama State men, won their tournament's final game by double-digits.
Cynthia Cooper-Dyke's Lady Panthers of Prairie View
(23-10) were the most dominant putting on a second-half blitz to dispose of
second-seed Southern (16-13) in the SWAC women's final, 74-49.
Patricia Cage-Bibbs Lady Aggies of North Carolina A&T (26-6) began their onslaught in the first half in taking care of Hampton (16-16) in the MEAC women's final by almost as wide a margin, 76-54.
After a slow start, Todd Bozeman's Bears of Morgan State were impressive in both halves downing Norfolk State, 83-69, in the MEAC men's final.
Only Lewis Jackson's Hornets of Alabama State (22-9) came in minus the double-digit margin, knocking off second-seed Jackson State 65-58 in the SWAC men's final.
The scene now shifts to the NCAA "Big Dance' where each conference winner will have to play giant killer against a much higher ranked opponent.
Cage-Bibbs' Lady Aggies and Bozeman's Bears both got decent seedings when the fields were announced Sunday and Monday.
The Lady Aggies got the highest placement Monday when they were designated a 14th seed in the tough Trenton Region that includes women's top seed, undefeated (33-0) UConn. A&T will play Saturday ( 2 p.m.) in Duluth, Ga. against the Region's No. 3 seed, ACC runner-up Florida State (27-5).
The seeding represents a milestone for MEAC women's
teams who've never been seeded above 15th in previous years.
"A fourteenth seed just shows the kind of respect these young ladies have earned over the last two seasons,'' said Bibbs, whose Aggies won back-to-back regular season titles and set school records for wins in each of the last two seasons. The Lady Aggies got a big win on the road at Atlantic 10 champion UNC-Charlotte, a 10th seed in this year's tournament.
"We are excited, but we are not just happy to be there. We're going to come ready to play," Bibbs said. This will be her seventh trip to the Big Dance taking three teams from Hampton ('00, '03 and '04) and two teams from Grambling State ('94, '96 and '97).
Morgan State received a 15th seed in the men's South Region and will play 2nd seed Oklahoma (27-5) Thursday (9:40 p.m.) in Kansas City. The Bears also have a win over a team seeded 10th in the championship field, Maryland (20-13), who is playing in the West Region.
While this is Morgan State's first trip to the NCAA Tournament since moving to Div. I, Bozeman will be going for the third time in seven years as a head coach.
Cooper-Dyke's Lady Panthers are seeded 16th in the women's Oklahoma City Region and will also face Oklahoma (28-4), the women's team, on Sunday (7 p.m.) in Iowa City, Iowa. Oklahoma features all-American center Courtney Paris.
"We're going to come in and spread the court and get our one-on-one game going," Cooper-Dyke told the Houston Chronicle Monday. "We're going to defend, we're going to change the defense and we're going to press and then once we get the ball we are going to run it right down their throats and keep the pressure up on their defense.
"And then let the chips fall where they may."
The WNBA legend has guided a Prairie View program that had never had a winning season prior to her arrival to three straight postseason appearances, two trips to the NCAAs and one to the WNIT.
Jackson's Alabama State men (22-9) kick things off in the opening round game Monday in Dayton, Ohio vs. Ohio Valley Conference champ Morehead State (19-15). The winner of that game will advance to take on men's overall No. 1 seed Louisville, Friday in the Midwest Region also in Dayton.
This is the third trip to the Dance for the Hornets, the first for Jackson.
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