Courtesy: The SIAC
ATLANTA – Bracket seeding for the 2024 SIAC Basketball Tournament is finalized after conference standings tightened in the final week of the regular season.
Men’s West Division
On the men’s side of the bracket, the defending champions, Miles (21-5, 16-4 SIAC), claimed the number one seed in the west division after ending the season on a nine-game winning streak. The remaining west division seeding unfolds with Tuskegee (13-14, 12-8 SIAC) as the number two seed, Spring Hill (14-12, 11-9 SIAC) as the number three seed, Kentucky State (12-13, 9-11 SIAC) as the number four seed, Lane (10-15, 8-12 SIAC) as the number five seed, LeMoyne-Owen (8-18, 6-14 SIAC) as the number six seed and Central State (3-24, 2-18 SIAC) as the number seven seed.
Men’s East Division
The Clark Atlanta (22-5, 16-5 SIAC) men’s team secured the number one seed in the east division after sweeping Morehouse (19-9, 16-5 SIAC) during the regular season, thus sending last year’s east division number one seed holder down to the two seed spot.
The nationally ranked (No. 22) Benedict Tigers (21-6, 15-6 SIAC) suffered from inconsistent play late in the season, landing the number three seed.
Allen (14-14, 10-11 SIAC) lost four of its last five games but was able to hold on to the number four seed over the number five seed Savannah State (12-13, 10-11 SIAC) after sweeping the Tigers in the regular season.
Edward Waters (10-17, 9-12 SIAC) enters the tournament in the number six seed spot, and Fort Valley State(7-20, 7-14 SIAC) enters as the number seven seed after winning a tiebreaker over number eight seed Albany State (9-18, 7-14 SIAC). The Georgia rivals split their regular season series with the Wildcats spoiling the Golden Rams’ homecoming on Jan. 27 and Albany State returning the favor at the Wildcats’ homecoming on Feb. 17. Fort Valley States’ 1-1 record against Allen gave the Wildcats the higher seed after Albany State went 0-2 against the same opponent.
The top two seeds from each division will receive a double bye in the first two rounds of the tournament. Seeds three and four from both divisions and seed five from the east division will receive a first-round bye.
This year’s tournament will be played at Savannah State University from round to the semifinals on March 3-9. The championship games will be played at Enmarket Arena on March 10.
Women’s West Division
The Kentucky State (19-6, 15-4 SIAC) women’s team edged out the number 1 seed in the west division over Miles (20-6, 15-4 SIAC) winning five of its final six games. The two teams split their regular season games with Miles winning the first matchup on Jan. 22 and Kentucky State being victorious in the second game on Feb. 10. The Thorobreds hold the tie breaker in the tournament seeding after finishing 2-0 against Tuskegee University whereas the Lady Bears record was 1-1 against the same opponent.
Lane (13-13, 11-8 SIAC) claimed the number three seed in the division after Tuskegee (14-9, 11-8 SIAC) ended the season on a three-game losing streak landing the Golden Tigers in the fourth seed spot. The Dragons hold the tie breaker in the tournament seeding after finishing 1-1 against Kentucky State whereas the Golden Tigers record was 0-2 against the same opponent.
The west division is rounded out with Central State (12-14, 9-10 SIAC) as the fifth seed, LeMoyne-Owen (13-13, 8-11 SIAC) as the sixth seed and Spring Hill (6-17, 6-13 SIAC) as the seventh seed.
Women’s East Division
The Savannah State (19-5, 15-4 SIAC) women’s team finished a strong regular season campaign earning the top seed in the east division. Fort Valley State (14-10, 12-7 SIAC) earned the number 2 seed in the east division, a large improvement from the seven seed spot the team held entering last years’ tournament. Clark Atlanta (14-11, 11-8 SIAC) landed the number three seed.
Edward Waters (9-17, 7-12 SIAC) dropped three of its last four games making the team the number four seed in the division by virtue of a tie breaker over Allen (11-14, 7-12 SIAC), the fifth seed. Despite stringing together a series of late season victories, Allen split the regular season series with the four seed winning the first matchup on Jan. 31 and Edward Waters avenging the loss in the following game on Feb. 3. The Lady Tigers hold the tiebreaker in the tournament seeding after finishing 1-1 against Savannah State whereas the Yellow Jackets record was 0-2 against the same opponent.
The east division is rounded out with Albany State (5-22, 5-14 SIAC) as the sixth seed and Benedict (3-23, 1-18 SIAC).
The top two seeds from each division will receive a double bye in the first two rounds of the tournament, and seeds three, four and five will receive a first-round bye.