BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The 2019 Southwestern Athletic Conference Men’s Basketball regular season had several surprising performances turned in over the course of the season.
Prairie View A&M captured back-to-back regular season titles after concluding the year with an overall of 14-4 record.
Led by SWAC Player of the Year Devonte Patterson, the Panthers were the front runners of the regular season race for the majority of the way after getting off to a 7-2 start in league action.
2019-20 Regular Season Recap
Southern, perhaps the most surprising team in league regular season play finished second in the standings with a 13-5 record, while Texas Southern (12-6) ranked third.
Jackson State, Alcorn State and Grambling State finished with identical records of (11-7) in the conference standings placing fourth, fifth, and sixth respectively in the final rankings (after applying tie-breaker procedures).
Alabama State ranked seventh with a record of (7-11) in the conference rankings and Alabama A&M finished eighth with a record of 5-13 in the regular season.
Arkansas Pine Bluff and Mississippi Valley State concluded the season with matching (3-15) records rounding out the regular season standings in ninth and tenth place respectively.
2020 SWAC Tournament Recap
In the quarterfinals of the 2020 SWAC Men’s Basketball Tournament, Prairie View A&M eliminated Alabama A&M 82-60 at the William Nicks Building.
Southern defeated No.7 Alabama State 67-53 at the Clark Activity Center.
Texas Southern rolled past as they eliminated Grambling State 75-62 at the Fredrick C. Hobdy Center.
Jackson State defeated Alcorn State 69-52 at the Lee E. Williams Center to round out the teams that qualified for the 2020 SWAC Men's Basketball Tournament semifinal round.
2019-20 SWAC All-Conference Awards
Prairie View A&M University forward Devonte Patterson was named the 2019-20 Southwestern Athletic Conference Men’s Basketball Player of the Year.
Jackson State’s Jayveous McKinnis was tabbed Defensive Player of the Year, Mississippi Valley State’s Caleb Hunter earned Freshman of the Year accolades, and Roland Griffin was named Newcomer of the Year. Prairie View A&M head coach Byron Smith was voted Coach of the Year for the second consecutive season.
Patterson was third in the league in points per game (15.8), and ranked fourth in rebounds per game (6.4 rpg). He also ranked near the top of the conference in field-goal percentage (.463). His efforts assisted the Panthers in claiming back-to-back regular season titles (2019 and 2020).
McKinnis averaged 9.3 points per game and led the league in blocks at 1.9 per outing. He served as key factor for a JSU defense that ranked second in the league in points allowed per game (67.4 ppg).
Hunter ranked fourth in the league averaging 15.7 points per game and ranked second in three point field goal percentage (.278).
Griffin was a key member for the Jackson State Tigers this season ranking sixth in the league in points per game (15.3) and third in rebounding (6.5 rpg).
Smith guided the Panthers to their second regular-season championship since 2003, posting a 14-4 record in SWAC play (19-13 SWAC). Prairie View A&M’s offense averaged more than 71 points per game, ranking third in the conference.
2019-20 SWAC Postseason Awards
All-SWAC Men's Basketball First Team
G – Tyrik Armstrong, Texas Southern
G – Gerard Andrus, Prairie View A&M
F – Devonte Patterson, Prairie View A&M
F – Roland Griffin, Jackson State
G – Ivy Smith, Jr., Grambling State
All-SWAC Men's Basketball Second Team
G – Tristan Jarrett, Jackson State
G – Troymain Crosby, Alcorn State
G – Tobi Ewosho, Alabama State
F – DeVante Jackson, Grambling State
F – Yahuza Rasas, Texas Southern
Player of the Year
Devonte Patterson, Prairie View A&M
Defensive Player of the Year
Jayveous McKinnis, Jackson State
Freshman of the Year
Caleb Hunter, Mississippi Valley State
Newcomer of the Year
Roland Griffin, Jackson State
Coach of the Year
Byron Smith, Prairie View A&M
About the SWAC
The Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) is considered one of the premier HBCU conferences in the country and currently ranks among the elite in the nation in terms of HBCU alumni playing with professional sports teams.
Current championship competition offered by the league includes competition for men in Baseball, Basketball, Cross Country, Football, Golf, Indoor Track and Field, Outdoor Track and Field and Tennis.
Women’s competition is offered in the sports of Basketball, Bowling, Cross Country, Golf, Indoor Track and Field, Outdoor Track and Field, Soccer, Softball, Tennis and Volleyball.
Follow the SWAC
For complete coverage of the Southwestern Athletic Conference, please follow the SWAC on social media at @TheSWAC (Twitter), @TheSWAC (Facebook), and @TheSWAC (Instagram) or visit the official home of the Southwestern Athletic Conference at www.swac.org.