SIAC Tourney tips just outside Atlanta
The 2026 basketball tournament spotlight shifts this week to the Clayton County Convocation Center in Morrow, Ga., 19 miles outside Atlanta, as the annual Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) Tournament tipped off in earnest Wednesday after opening round play this past Saturday.
Opening round games involved teams seeded from third to the bottom of the men’s and women’s standings and were hosted by the higher seeded teams.
Morehouse (19-9, 19-5 SIAC) and Clark Atlanta (21-7, 18-6) in the East and Tuskegee (20-7, 19-5) and Miles (19-7, 17-7) in the West are seeded 1 and 2 in their respective men’s divisions and received first-round byes. The top seeds for the ladies in the East are Edward Waters (24-4, 21-3 SIAC) and Clark Atlanta (19-7, 17-7) and Miles (22-5, 20-4) and Lane (20-5, 19-5) in the West. They also received first-round byes.
After Saturday’s opening round, quarterfinal play that began Wednesday had top women’s seeds playing at 11 a.m. (Miles vs. 4E Allen) and 2 p.m. (Edward Waters vs. 5E Albany State) followed by the men’s top seeds at 5 p.m. (Tuskegee vs. 4E Benedict) and 8 p.m. (Morehouse vs. 5E Edward Waters).
Quarterfinals continue on Thursday with second women’s seeds going at 11 a.m. (Clark Atlanta vs. 3W Tuskegee) and 2 p.m. (Lane vs. 3E Benedict) and men’s second seeds taking the court at 5 p.m. (Clark Atlanta vs. 3W LeMoyne-Owen) and 8 p.m. (Miles vs. 3E Savannah State).
The women’s semifinals are at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Friday with the men’s semis to follow at 5 p.m. and 8 p.m.
The women’s championship game is first Saturday at 4 p.m. with the men’s title game at 7:30 p.m.
All the games in Morrow are being streamed live on ESPN+.
CIAA Tournament yields two coaching changes
Bowie State men’s head basketball coach Darrell Brooks and Shaw head men’s coach Bobby Collins both announced their departures from those programs following losses at this week’s CIAA Basketball Tournament in Baltimore.
Brooks, whose Bulldogs lost a tough 86-83 decision to eventual champion Fayetteville State in Wednesday’s quarterfinal round, announced after that game that he was retiring after 16 years leading BSU. His squad won a Tuesday opening round game, 100-77 over Livingstone.
A Brooklyn, New York native, Brooks is a two-time Bowie State graduate, earning a bachelor’s degree in communications in 1979 and a master’s in organizational communications in 2019. He was also a two-year letterwinner for the Bulldogs at point guard.
“It has been the honor of a lifetime to serve as the head men’s basketball coach at Bowie State University,” said Brooks. “I am grateful to all the players, assistant coaches, managers, administrators, alumni and fans who have supported our program throughout my tenure. Bowie State is such a special place. My family and I will always cherish the relationships and memories we’ve built here.”
During his tenure as head coach, Brooks led the Bulldogs to an overall record of 244-234, 140-108 in CIAA play, capturing five Northern Division titles along with CIAA Tournament championships in 2013 and 2017. The Bulldogs made three NCAA regional tournament appearances under his leadership, advancing to the 2011 regional semifinals. Brooks was named CIAA Coach of the Year in 2014 and 2015. He became the program’s all-time winningest head coach in January 2022 after earning his 200th career victory.
Collins announced that he was resigning as Shaw’s head coach after his team’s 69-63 opening round loss to Lincoln (Pa.) Tuesday.
“Over the past few days, I’ve taken intentional time to reflect, and I want to personally share that my decision to step down as the men’s head basketball coach at Shaw University was thoughtful, measured, and fully aligned with my purpose. This decision was made with clarity and I move forward with both gratitude and peace.”
Collins, 50, a Southern Pines, N. C. native, played at Eastern Kentucky from 1997-2001. The coaching veteran has served stints as head coach at Hampton, Maryland-Eastern Shore and Winston-Salem State and as an assistant at Hampton and South Carolina State. He had been at Shaw since 2020 and compiled a 65-67 (.492) record. He led his squad to a 16-10 (7-9 CIAA) record this past season. His overall head coaching record is 229-249 (.479).
Wykevin Bazemore, who played for Collins at WSSU and had been an assistant at Shaw since the 2021-22 season, will be the acting head coach.
Howard men, women move closer to MEAC regular season basketball titles
Howard’s men and women got key wins to move closer to clinching Mid Eastern Athletic Conference regular season titles but the races are not over headed to their final regular season games this week, showdowns on the road vs. Norfolk State Thursday.
The first-place Howard men (10-3) got big wins on the road over Morgan State (84-59) Saturday and at home Monday over Coppin State (90-70) to extend their league winning streak to eight games. After its loss to Howard Saturday, Morgan State beat Norfolk State 90-84 at home Monday to grab sole possession of second at 9-4. Norfolk State is now in a third-place tie with North Carolina Central at 8-5. NCCU beat Maryland-Eastern Shore Monday 77-73.
The Howard men need a win over Norfolk State Thursday to claim the regular season title. A Howard loss to Norfolk State Thursday and a win by Morgan State over Coppin State Thursday would tie HU and MSU for the regular season title at 10-4. Morgan State and Howard split in their head-to-head match up with MSU winning at Howard 78-77 on Jan. 24.
The Howard women won at Morgan State Saturday to extend its MEAC record to 12-1. Second-place Norfolk State got by Coppin State to move to 11-2 and set up Thursday’s showdown. Howard won clinch the regular season title with a win while NSU would tie for the title with a win. HU beat NSU in their first match up on Jan. 31 in Washington, 68-59.
Bethune-Cookman men, Alabama A&M women clinch SWAC regular-season titles, tourney top seeds
The Bethune-Cookman men and Alabama A&M women both got wins over the past week to clinch regular-season titles and top seeds for next week’s (Monday, March 9 – Saturday, March 14) SWAC Basketball Tournaments in College Park, Ga. at the Gateway Center Arena.
B-CU (17-13, 14-3 SWAC), under six-year Head Coach and school Athletics Director Reggie Theus, went on the road and got close wins at Grambling State (76-71) Thursday and at Southern (82-79) Saturday. Those victories opened up an insurmountable four-game lead over Texas Southern and Florida A&M, both 10-7 with just one game left on B-CU’s regular season schedule (Thurs., March 5 at Florida A&M).
Alabama A&M (19-9, 15-1 SWAC), under second-year head coach Dawn Thornton, earned its first-ever regular season title and top tournament seed with a 51-43 win over rival Alabama State Saturday. The Lady Bulldogs sport a two-game lead over second-place Alcorn State (16-11, 13-3) with home games against Grambling (Tuesday) and Southern (Thursday) left on the schedule. Alabama A&M beat Alcorn handily, 76-34, in their only meeting this season.
Tennessee State men win OVC regular season title, clinch top seed for tournament
MARTIN, Tenn. — The Tennessee State men’s basketball team never trailed and delivered a dominant defensive performance to secure a share of the Ohio Valley Conference regular-season title with a 67-42 road victory over UT Martin on Saturday.
With the win, TSU snaps a 31-year drought as the conference’s top team at the conclusion of the regular season. The Tigers, under the direction of first-year head coach Nolan Smith, earned the No. 1 overall seed in the March 4-7 OVC Tournament and gets byes into Friday’s (March 6) 7 p.m. semifinal at the Ford Center in Evansville, Indiana.
