We’re in the midst of Championship Fortnight, so let’s gear up for the continuing action by breaking down each of the Other 26’s conference tournaments as they get under way.

SWAC Tournament

Dates: March 10-14

Site: Toyota Center (Houston, TX)

(swac.org)

What to expect: Second-seeded Alabama State and third-seeded Southern are both ineligible for postseason play this year, so should one of those two win the event – a distinct possibility – the next-highest finisher will claim the automatic NCAA Tournament bid. Then again, it might not matter. Texas Southern, which beat Michigan State and Kansas State back in non-conference play, looks poised to reach the Big Dance for a second straight year after winning the league title with relative ease. The transfer-laden Tigers are experienced, talented and have the benefit of playing in their own backyard (the Toyota Center is located just three miles from the Texas Southern campus). It’s hard to see Mike Davis’ club losing prior to the championship game, where it would likely meet the Hornets or Jaguars.

Favorite: Texas Southern. You don’t beat NCAA Tournament-caliber opponents like the Spartans and Wildcats without having quality talent on your roster, and that certainly holds true for Texas Southern. Marshall transfer Chris Thomas (12.3 PPG) is a former five-star recruit, Deverell Biggs (11.8 PPG) nearly averaged double-figures in his time at Nebraska. And Madarious Gibbs (14.1 PPG) is the SWAC Player of the Year. The Tigers have a lot to work with.

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Nate Kotisso (@natekotisso) is a Big 12 correspondent for Rush the Court. He filed this report after attending the Oklahoma-Texas A&M game in Houston on Saturday night.

Holy crap, what a basketball game, and I don’t mean that in a good way. The Sooners came into Houston riding a six-game winning streak with some rather impressive numbers. In four of those games, Oklahoma averaged 91.3 points per game, shot 48.2 percent from the field and 38.8 percent from three, and committed 10 or fewer turnovers. Texas A&M entered play on Saturday averaging 74.9 points per game, was shooting 49.6 percent from the floor and a modest 34.1 percent from the perimeter. Following the game, those numbers would go down (but for turnovers) for both teams.

Oklahoma’s win over Texas A&M on Saturday night is perhaps their best win before Big 12 play. (AP photo)

This meeting between former Big 12 opponents is probably one that shouldn’t happen again for a very long time. Oklahoma committed 22 turnovers, made fewer two-point baskets than the Aggies, and still somehow won the game by 12 points. Texas A&M was awful in so many respects. The Aggies had no desire to defend in their man-to-man defense, rebound (Oklahoma held an 11-rebound edge) or take good shots (26.9% FG; 2-of-23 on threes). I could try to break down this game more articulately but these Twitter reactions are just too golden instead.

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