Alcorn State at Alabama A&M, 7:00 PM Eastern, Alabama A&M YouTube Channel
It is time for the Under the Radar Game of the Day to turn its attention to the SWAC — and more importantly to one of only five remaining undefeated teams in the entire nation! The discussion of undefeated teams generally centers on Gonzaga and Baylor, and to a lesser extent on Drake and Winthrop. However, tonight the fifth undefeated team (albeit at only 4-0), Alabama A&M will be putting their shot at perfection on the line at home in Huntsville against Alcorn State.
AAMU enters tonight’s game at 2-0 in SWAC play and 4-0 overall. The Bulldogs have defeated Samford, South Alabama, Alabama State and Southern already this season. This past weekend’s 68-58 home win over Southern was a bit of a shocker, as the Jaguars had been one of the favorites in the SWAC this season. Garrett Hicks had a career high 27 points to lead the way for AAMU, and Jalen Johnson added 19. The win gave AAMU their best start ever (4-0) at the Division I level, which they have been in since the 1998-99 season.
Tonight’s opponent is the Alcorn State Braves. The Braves are currently 3-6 overall and 3-1 in SWAC play. Alcorn is led by Troymain Crosby, who is averaging 19.1 points and 4.3 rebounds per game. Also keep an eye on Kurk Lee, who is averaging 12.2 points and 3.8 assist per game. Both players will have to play well for a Braves teams that currently rates as one of the worst offensive and defensive teams in the nation according to KenPom.
OTHER HIGHLIGHTED GAMES
-SYRACUSE AT VIRGINIA (ACC). Syracuse is fresh off of their big win against Virginia Tech over the weekend. If they can pull off this one against UVA on the road, not only will they be safely inside the bubble, but they’ll be approaching a spot in the top half of the bracket.
-LOYOLA CHICAGO AT BRADLEY (Missouri Valley). There may be room for Loyola Chicago inside the bubble, but they’ll pretty much need to win out in order to have any shot of it at all.
-TEXAS TECH AT WEST VIRGINIA (Big 12). It’s two teams ranked in the top 15 that are gunning for protected seeds and looking to add a big protected-seed caliber win to their resumes. Both teams are tough on the defensive end, WVU with their pressure and Texas Tech with their half court defense, so it should be a fun game to watch.
-UTAH STATE AT UNLV (Mountain West). Utah State has a path to landing inside the bubble, but they need to come close to winning out in order to do it and they need to avoid losses to teams that are 100 miles outside the bubble like UNLV.