ATLANTA – No. 11 seed Alcorn will open its Pepsi Southwestern Athletic Conference Tournament presented by Buick run against No. 10 seed Alabama State on Monday, March 9, inside Gateway Center Arena in Atlanta, Georgia, with tip-off set for 2 p.m. ET. All games for the SWAC Men's and Women's Basketball Tournament will be streaming live on ESPN+.
 
What: Game Thirty-One
Who: #11 Alcorn (8-22) vs. #10 Alabama State (10-21)
When: Monday, March 9, at 2 p.m. ET
Where: Atlanta, Ga. – Gateway Center Arena (3,500)
 
Watch: ESPN+
Attend: Online Ticket Sales
Live Stats: Click Here
Listen Live: WPRL-FM 91.7
 
IN THE RANKINGS
▪ Alcorn is not ranked in this week's Associated Press Top 25
▪ Alabama State is not ranked in this week's Associated Press Top 25
 
SOCIAL MEDIA
Keep up with everything Alcorn Men's Basketball this season by following the Braves social media platforms. You can follow @BravesSports on X/Twitter and @AlcornSports on Instagram.
 
NEWS & NOTES
▪ The Braves enter the SWAC Tournament as the No. 11 seed after finishing the regular season 8-22 overall, but were able to put together a 7-11 mark in SWAC play.
▪ Tycen McDaniels leads the team at 11.9 points and 5.8 rebounds per game on the season, and he elevates in conference play, bumping that up to 13.9 points and 7.1 boards per game. He's shooting 56 percent from the field in league games.
▪ Shane Lancaster, the team's three-point specialist, has knocked down 60 threes on the season and is shooting 44.8 percent from beyond the arc overall – one of the better marks in the conference.
▪ Jameel Morris rounds out the top three scorers for the Braves in averaging 10.3 points per game, and leads the team with 82 assists. Against SWAC opponents, he's shooting 48.5 percent from the floor.
▪ Alcorn does share the ball, logging 335 assists on the season, but they've also turned it over 415 times.
▪ Defensively, the Braves have racked up 233 steals on the year (7.8 per game) and actually out-stole their opponents in conference play, 138 to 113.
▪ Alcorn is being outrebounded by seven boards a game overall and 3.7 per game in league play.
▪ Last season, the Braves were eliminated by No. 3 seed Bethune-Cookman 69-60 in their opening contest.
 
RECAPPING ALCORN'S LAST GAME (vs. Arkansas-Pine Bluff)
Four Arkansas-Pine Bluff players entered double-figures scoring as the visiting Golden Lions upended the Alcorn Braves 83-48 in the regular season finale for both programs inside Davey L. Whitney Complex in Lorman, Mississippi.
 
• For Alcorn, it was "Senior Appreciation Night" as the Braves paid tribute to seniors Omari Hamilton, Travis Roberts and Nick Woodard before the game.
• Tycen McDaniels scored 16 points to lead all Purple and Gold performers on the night.
• For McDaniels, it was his 20th double figure scoring output of the season.
• McDaniels also led the Braves with nine rebounds, one shy of yet another double-double performance.
• Shane Lancaster handed out a team-high five assists and collected a pair of steals.
• Omari Hamilton shot 4 of 9 from the field for nine points, grabbing in 11 rebounds.
• Arkansas-Pine Bluff took control midway through the first half and never trailed again, building a 37-19 halftime lead before outscoring Alcorn State 46-29 in the second half.
• The Golden Lions shot 52.3 percent from the field and dominated inside, scoring 58 points in the paint while forcing 17 turnovers.
• UAPB scored 19 points off those Alcorn turnovers.
• Quion Williams led the Golden Lions with 18 points and 13 rebounds, adding five assists, three steals and two blocks.
• Jaquan Scott scored 17 points with seven rebounds for the visitors, while Milhan Charles added 15 points on 7-for-8 shooting overall from the floor.
• Trevon Payton contributed 13 points and a game-high seven assists as UAPB recorded 21 assists on 34 made field goals as a unit.
• UAPB used a decisive run in the opening half to stretch a single-digit lead into a double-digit margin and led by as many as 38 points late in the second half.
• Alcorn struggled offensively, shooting 32.1 percent from the field and just 12.5 percent from three-point territory (2 of 16).
• The Purple and Gold shot just 24.1 percent from the floor in the opening half, and was just 1 of 8 from long range, respectfully.
 
ALCORN VS. ALABAMA STATE SERIES
▪ Alabama State holds a slight 35-31 edge all-time in the series between the two teams.
▪ The Hornets have won two of the last three encounters, including an 81-66 decision earlier this season in Montgomery, Alabama.
▪ Alcorn had won seven consecutive against Alabama State from February 2019 through January 2023, respectfully.
▪ Across the last 10 meetings, the Braves have won eight of those contests.
▪ This will be the first meeting for the two sides in the SWAC Tournament since Alabama State collected a 64-51 win from the Purple and Gold in Houston, Texas, back on March 13, 2014.
 
SCOUTING ALABAMA STATE
▪ Alabama State comes into the SWAC Tournament as the reigning champions, but enters as the No. 10 seed in this year's edition.
▪ Jaquarius Stanback was honored as the SWAC's Defensive Player of the Year. Stanback averages 5.5 rebounds and 8.4 points per game along with 57 blocks and 34 steals.
▪ Alabama State was outscored by an average of 3.9 points per game overall, but managed a +0.1-scoring margin in conference play (72.8 to 72.7).
▪ The Hornets shot 41.9% from the field overall, connecting on 32.3% of their three-point attempts (7.5 made per game).
▪ Micah Simpson led Alabama State in scoring with 430 total points, averaging 13.9 points per game overall in 31 starts across the campaign. Asjon Anderson averaged 14.5 points per game – the team's highest scoring average.
▪ Tyler Byrd ranked third on the team with 10.3 points per game and led the Hornets with 51 steals.
▪ R'Chaun King was Alabama State's most efficient interior scorer, shooting 59.5% from the field overall and 65.6% in SWAC play.
▪ Alabama State topped UAB on the road, 77-74, on November 11 for one of the program's signature non-conference wins.
 
UP NEXT
The winner of the Alcorn versus Alabama State game will take on No. 8 seed Prairie View A&M in the next round on Tuesday, March 10, at 2 p.m. ET.
 
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