Home together, at last, Jackson State basketball teams handle Alcorn State counterparts

In a doubleheader, the Jackson State men’s and women’s teams came out victorious.

Entering Saturday’s doubleheader at Lee E. Williams Athletics and Assembly Center, the Jackson State men’s and women’s basketball teams hadn’t experienced home games on the same day since Feb. 27, when each squad knocked off Arkansas-Pine Bluff. 

Finally playing back-to-back games on campus after that long hiatus, the Tigers registered another pair of victories, this time against Alcorn State’s men’s and women’s teams. 

JSU’s women’s team was coming off eight consecutive road games – the last five defeats against No. 11 Kansas State, Oregon State, Mississippi State, Miami, and No. 10 Texas. But the Tigers had no problem opening Southwestern Athletic Conference play as they began pursuit of a fifth straight league title by routing the Braves,

“It’s mentally draining, physically draining also,” Williams said. “Being in front of our fans, them giving us energy, waking up in our bed game day, going back to our bed game night – it’s just something that we haven’t experienced all year.”

Williams was irked by the SWAC preseason rankings, which predicted a fourth-place finish for JSU and failed to include any Tigers on the all-conference team. Jackson State finished third last season, Williams’ first at the school.

“We have a fire lit under us,”  Williams told The Clarion-Ledger earlier this season. “We are very deep, and we are the best team in the SWAC. We want to be great. We want to be undefeated in our league. We want to be champions, and we want to go to the NCAA Tournament. That is our mindset.”

The Tigers play at Alabama State on Thursday, while Alcorn plays at Alabama A&M.

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