Southern University will be remembered as the 2023 SWAC Champions and for the shot that decimated the dreams of the Jackson State women. It’s a dream however that may be deferred but not completely lost.
Tomekia Reed’s goal is to put Jackson State basketball on the map of college hoops. Winning SWAC Championships year in and year out is part of that journey but not the final destination. After missing out on the NCAA Tournament a year after taking LSU to the brink, those dreams will now run through the WNIT postseason.
“I told my players I saw this moment and God said, I’ll show you who I am. That’s what he told me before I put on my clothes to come here. He said, I’ll show you who I am and I trust him and I trust what we’ve done. I trust what we are going through right now and he said, Wherever the next place you go, you’ll go in and show out. So this is an opportunity for us to wake up. This is an opportunity for us to, pull back together. We have a new season, that’s getting ready to come forward and and I’m just thankful that we have an opportunity to continue to play ball,” Reed said after Friday’s loss.
Since then the season of every other SWAC team for both the men and women has come to a close. Texas Southern lost to Fairleigh Dickinson in the First Four. The Southern women came up short against Sacred Heart, while the Alcorn State men bowed out to North Texas in the NIT.
Knocking Down the Group of Five
A win on Thursday against Memphis (20-10) would give JSU (21-9) another high profile victory this season, and one when the stakes were high. The Lady Tigers beat Power Five member Texas Tech on Nov. 15 and followed that up with a win over Group of Five member Louisiana. Memphis is a member of the American Athletic Conference, a group of five conference.
Reed and her team are happy to get the taste of losing out of their mouths in the WNIT. However, the coach feels their resume was enough for the big dance.
“You’re talking about our average deficit in playing power fives was eight. You’re talking about a team that our net ranking is 92. The next HBCU is 174. We’re top 100 in the country. All right. We’re top mid-major in the country. So I think that we are worthy of an NCAA spot,” she said.
The selection committee saw things differently so here we are.
Sweet 16 Run
A Sweet 16 run, or larger, in the WNIT could be a huge step in resume building for Reed’s program. The road to the Sweet 16 would include going through a pool of teams including Memphis, Ball State, Belmont, Niagara, Green Bay, Liberty and Bowling Green. A respectable lot but not the creme of the crop in women’s basketball.
This could be an opportunity for Jackson State to show the world that it must be respected outside of HBCU circles. It begins Thursday night at 8pm in Memphis.
“We’re top 100. Last year we were 74, but I had veterans on the floor. I had peak players that had been in my program four years. They were on the floor. It was 74. We’re 92. That’s great. We could be 175 like the next HBCU. I’m happy with where we are. We’ll see where we go from here.”