The Alabama A&M Bulldogs and the Southern University Jaguars meet Thursday in SWAC Tournament college basketball action from Bartow Arena. Alabama A&M finished the regular season at 14-17 overall. As for Southern, they’re sitting at 15-16 this year. These teams met up back on Saturday, with Alabama A&M taking a three-point victory. Check back all season long for free college basketball picks at Sports Chat Place.
Alabama A&M Bulldogs
Alabama A&M was sitting at 9-15 by the 24-game mark this year. The Bulldogs finished out the schedule on a solid 5-2 run, beating MS Valley State, AR-Pine Bluff, Bethune-Cookman, Alabama State and Southern U along the way.
Matched up against Southern on Saturday, the Bulldogs went into halftime with a 41-30 advantage. Alabama A&M wasn’t as sharp from there but still won 68-65. Leading scorers Lorenzo Downey and Xavier Brewer each notched 16 points.
Southern Jaguars
Over on the Southern U side, they managed a .500 run through 24 games at 12-12 overall. The Jaguars are a sketchy 3-4 since then, taking losses to Texas Southern, Bethune-Cookman, Grambling State and Alabama A&M along the way.
In the Saturday game versus the Bulldogs, Southern U got better in the second half with a 35-27 run. It wasn’t enough to make the comeback, though. The Jaguars’ Brion Whitley led the team with his 17 points in 32 minutes of work.
ANDREW’S FREE PICK
I’ll probably stay with Alabama A&M. The Bulldogs have really picked it up over this current 5-2 stretch. That said, Alabama A&M hasn’t eclipsed 68 points in three straight games. Still, the Bulldogs won both meetings between these teams this year: 82-61 at home on February 4 and 68-65 in the road game Saturday. A hot start will go a long way in this one, and I think the Bulldogs can do it. Southern U hasn’t eclipsed 68 points in six straight games themselves, so this matchup could very well be a lower total.