Sports

MORE QUESTIONS THAN ANSWERS IN SWAC STANDINGS FOR UAPB

By Mike Marzelli/OF THE COMMERCIAL STAFF
Wednesday, February 28, 2007 9:42 PM CST

The only certainty for the Arkansas-Pine Bluff men’s basketball team heading into tonight’s 7:30 p.m. regular season finale is that its opponent, Mississippi Valley State, will be the Southwestern Athletic Conference’s regular season champion.

How the rest of the SWAC shakes down is anybody’s guess.

The Golden Lions currently sit in fifth place in the league standings at 9-8 but have played one more game than the two teams ahead of them at 9-7, Alcorn State and Texas Southern, and second place Jackson State (10-6), as well as the two teams behind them at 8-8, Grambling State and Alabama State, meaning the SWAC’s postseason outlook will remain unclear and confusing even after UAPB leaves Itta Bena, Miss.

Van Holt’s team has split the season series with both Alcorn and Grambling and it can earn the tiebreaker over both, but UAPB has lost twice to both Alabama State and Texas Southern and will lose the tiebreaker to each school if it comes into play.

Potential scenarios for the Lions include finishing as high as second with a win over Valley, two losses apiece by Texas Southern, Jackson State and Alcorn and single losses by Alabama State and Grambling, or as low as seventh with a loss to Valley and one win by all the other schools in the mix.

UAPB’s fate likely lies somewhere in between — all the possible scenarios will not be exhausted until the regular season winds down on Monday — but regardless of where they finish, the Golden Lions will enter the SWAC tournament as the hottest team in the league.

Winners of six of their last seven, the Lions (11-17, 9-8) will face Valley (15-14, 12-5) for the first time since a 63-55 loss to the Delta Devils Jan. 3, looking to finish the season on a high note.

“In all my years of coaching my teams have always played their best ball at the end of the season,” Holt said. “We want to be peaking now and we are because we’re playing with a lot of confidence, but we know there is still a lot of work to be done.”

Lady Lions at Devilettes, 5:30 p.m.

The scenario is much simpler for the Lady Lions: With fourth-place Alcorn ineligible for the postseason due to NCAA sanctions, a win tonight over eighth-place Valley will guarantee them no less than the fifth seed in the SWAC tournament.

UAPB currently sits in fifth place with a game in hand over sixth place Alabama State and if it beats Valley again — UAPB won 67-60 on Jan. 3 and the Devilettes have lost 12-of-16 since — they will force State to win both of its final two games against Jackson State and Grambling to set up a tiebreaker scenario for the fourth slot.

The Lady Lions are guaranteed to face either Alabama State or Grambling State in the first round, with State being the likely first-round opponent unless the Lady Hornets lose both of their remaining games and Grambling wins out.

“It’s looking like Alabama State in the first round and we’re hoping for that fourth slot,” UAPB head coach Danny Evans said. “I’ve been stressing to the girls for weeks now to finish the season strong, build some momentum and give us a shot at the best position we can get.”

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