CIAA Tourney tips in Baltimore
The men of Virginia State (North) and Fayetteville State (South) and the women of Bowie State (North) and Winston-Salem State (South) are the top seeds and favorites as the CIAA Basketball Tournaments tipped off in Baltimore on Tuesday morning February 24.
The tournaments will run thru championship games on Saturday, Feb. 28 (women 1:00 p.m., men 4:00 p.m.).
Tuesday’s play included four women’s first round games involving seeds 3 thru 6 (10 a.m., 12:10 p.m., 2:40 p.m. and 4:30 p.m.) and two men’s first round games involving seeds 4 and 5 as nightcaps (6:40 and 8:50 p.m.)
On Wednesday (Feb. 25), women’s top seeds WSSU (2 p.m.) and BSU (4:30 p.m.) first play against Tuesday’s winners in quarterfinal matches followed by men’s top seeds VSU (6:40 p.m.) and FSU (8:40 p.m.) in their quarterfinal match-ups.
Quarterfinals will have a different format on Thursday (Feb. 26). Women’s N. Div. second seed Virginia State will play at 12 noon followed by men’s S. Div. second seed Claflin at 2 p.m.. The evening session has women’s S. Div. second seed Fayetteville State playing at 6 p.m. and men’s second seed Virginia Union taking the floor at 8 p.m.
Friday’s women’s semifinals are set for 12 noon and 6 p.m. with the men’s semis at 2 and 8 p.m.
As usual, the CIAA Tournament has a plethora of ancillary events going on all week.
They include the CIAA Fan Fest 2026 Friday and Satuday at the nearby Baltimore Convention Center, Greek Step Shows Friday and Saturday at the Convention Center, a Tech Summit Friday and a Financial Summit Saturday at the Rita Rossi Colwell Center, a host of day and night parties and shows featuring 2 Chainz Friday night (9 p.m. to 2 a.m.) and Mya Saturday night (9 p.m. to 2 a.m.) at Power Plant Live.
SIAC all but set; Tourney begins this weekend
Morehouse in the East and Tuskegee in the West are set as men’s top seeds for the men’s and women’s SIAC Tournaments which begin Saturday, February 28 at the home of the higher seeds.
Quarterfinals, semifinals and championship rounds are set for the Clayton County Convocation Center in Morrow, Ga. from Wed., March 4 thru Sat., March 7.
After a blowout 91-56 win at Kentucky State Thursday and a narrow 65-63 win at Central State Saturday, Morehouse (17-5) enters the final week of men’s SIAC regular season play with a slim one-game lead over Clark Atlanta (17-5) in the East Division. CAU won this week at LeMoyne-Owen (67-65) and at Lane (71-60).
Morehouse has games left at 11-12 Fort Valley State Tuesday and at 4-19 Spring Hill Thursday while Clark Atlanta finishes the season at 6-18 KSU Monday.
Tuskegee (19-5), coming off wins at home over Savannah State (70-65) and Edward Waters (75-55), has a two-game lead over Miles (17-7) in the West Division. That lead will hold as the Golden Tigers have finished regular season play.
For the women, Edward Waters, 21-3 in the East, and Miles (20-4) in the West have insurmountable leads and will be the tournament’s top seeds. Both have finished regular season play.
Howard men, women lead in MEAC races
The Howard men (8-3) and women (10-1) lead their respective Mid Eastern Athletic (MEAC) races with just a couple weeks of regular season play left on the schedule but the races are far from over. The MEAC Tourneys are at the Norfolk (Va.) Scope from March 11-14.
The Bison men are getting a similar effort this season from Morehouse transfer, 6-7 junior swingman Cedric Taylor III, that they got a season ago from 6-7 freshman Blake Harper who left after last season for Creighton after leading the conference in scoring and rebounding for most of the campaign. Taylor is averaging 17.4 points per game and pulling down 6.6 rebounds per game which would lead the MEAC statistical categories had he played in the requisite number of games. Taylor missed the first 11 games of the season with a broken hand. He is teaming with 6-4 rugged grad senior forward Bryce Harris, to give the Bison a formidable duo. Harris is averaging 17.2 ppg., third in the league, and leads the loop at 6.6 rebounds per contest.
Howard has a big showdown at second-place Morgan State (7-3) this Saturday (Feb. 28). MSU beat Howard 78-77 at Burr Gymnasium on Jan. 24. The Bison host Coppin State (5-6) Monday. Third-place Norfolk State (7-4) is at Coppin State Saturday and at MSU Monday.
The Howard women have just a one-game lead over 9-1 Norfolk State (9-2) and a two-game cushion vs. 8-3 Maryland-Eastern Shore. Howard hosts 6-5 Coppin State Thursday and plays at 3-8 Morgan State Monday NSU is at MSU Thursday and CSU Saturday. UMES hosts NC Central Thursday and SC State Saturday.
Bethune-Cookman men, Alabama A&M women lead SWAC hoops races
After losing two close games on the road to Alcorn State (57-55) and Jackson State (91-86), senior swingman Jakobi Heady’s play helped first-place Bethune-Cookman return home and get wins over Alabama State and Alabama A&M that stretched the 12-3 Wildcats’ lead to two-and-a-half games in the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) men’s race over Southern (9-5). Heady had a game-high 26 points with five 3-pointers vs. ASU and led five ‘Cats in double-digit scoring with 19 points vs. A&M.
Everyone else in the league is exchanging wins and losses headed to the March 9-14 men’s and women’s tournaments at the Gateway Center Arena in College Park, Georgia.
Alabama A&M’s women (14-1) have won 14 straight conference games since its only loss, a 74-72 overtime decision at Mississippi Valley State, as it began league play on Jan. 1. Only two teams have scored over 55 points since that loss. Second-year head coach Dawn Thornton’s A&M squad gives up a league-best 56.3 points per game.
The Lady Bulldogs now have a two-and-a-half-game lead over Alcorn State (11-3). Alabama State (11-4) and Southern (10-4) are third and fourth respectively.
A&M’s next game is at home vs. Alabama State on Saturday (Feb. 28) and then hosts Grambling on Tuesday (March 3).
