HBCU hoops stars make ‘Love & Basketball’ a reality

Love is in the air! Basketball stars Amarr Knox of Alabama State University and Dakiyah Sanders of Southern University got engaged last month on Valentine’s Day. To add to this joyous occasion, both teams won their first March Madness games this past week.

Knox, a Memphis, Tennessee native and redshirt sophomore, came to Alabama State in 2022. Sanders, who currently plays for Southern University, started her playing career at Alabama State in 2020. Before joining the Jaguars this season, she played for the Hornets for four seasons before moving to Southern.

Southern and Alabama State both advanced to the NCAA Tournament automatically after winning the SWAC Championship in Atlanta last week. Knox made history on Tuesday by making the game-winning layup that gave Alabama State an exciting victory over Saint Francis, drawing attention from the sports world as March Madness got underway.

The Red Flash controlled the game throughout, skillfully countering Alabama State’s full-court press with precise maneuvers and capitalizing on sharp shotmaking to steadily extend their lead. The Hornets’ relentless defense overwhelmed the Red Flash, leading to nine steals and 26 points off turnovers while forcing Saint Francis into 15 turnovers. A turnover helped set up the epic layup that helped Knox seal the win for Alabama State.

Sanders and the Southern University Jaguars defeated UC San Diego handily the next day, a huge win for SWAC and HBCU women’s basketball. The Lady Jaguars hopped out to an impressive lead and didn’t look back. Although UC San Diego attempted to pull back at the end of the game, Southern had firm control throughout and punched their ticket to March Madness.

Alabama State and Southern University set up matchups with top-ranked Auburn and UCLA in the following games. Alabama State lost to Auburn on yesterday afternoon, eliminating them from March Madness. Sanders and the Southern University Lady Jaguars will play UCLA later this evening, in the hopes of pulling off one of the biggest upsets in March Madness history.