Jackson St., Prairie View meet in SWAC semis

No. 4 seed Jackson State (15-17, 12-7) vs. No. 1 seed Prairie View (19-13, 15-4)

Southwestern Athletic Conference Tourney Semifinals, Bartow Arena, Birmingham, Alabama; Friday, 2:30 p.m. EDT

BOTTOM LINE: Jackson State is ready to face Prairie View with a spot in the SWAC championship game on the line. In the regular season, Prairie View won both of the head-to-head matchups. The teams last met on Feb. 17, when the Panthers outshot Jackson State 41.7 percent to 36.5 percent and made seven more 3-pointers en route to the nine-point victory.

BIG MEN ON CAMPUS: The Tigers are led by Tristan Jarrett and Roland Griffin. Jarrett is averaging 16.8 points while Griffin is putting up 14 points and 5.7 rebounds per game. The Panthers have been led by seniors Gerard Andrus and Devonte Patterson, who have combined to score 29 points per outing.

FACILITATING THE OFFENSE: Patterson has accounted for 44 percent of all Prairie View field goals over the last three games. Patterson has 21 field goals and 14 assists in those games.

SLIPPING AT 73: Jackson State is 0-12 when it allows at least 73 points and 15-5 when it holds opponents to less than 73.

LONG-RANGE THREAT: Jackson State’s Dontelius Ross has attempted 38 3-pointers and connected on 42.1 percent of them, and is 2 for 4 over his last three games.

DID YOU KNOW: Prairie View has attempted the second-most free throws among all SWAC teams. The Panthers have averaged 23.2 foul shots per game this season and 28.7 per game over their last three games.