• Texas Southern starts the second half of postseason play as they’ll participate in the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament (CIT), Presented By Bsn Sports Tuesday at Tarleton State.
• This marks the first time both teams will meet on the hardwood.
• Texas Southern last played in the CIT, which is back after a five-year hiatus, in 2019 as the Tigers advanced to the semifinals.
• TSU is paired in the Lou Henson Classic bracket as they’ll meet either Abilene Christian or Texas A&M-Corpus Christi at 6 p.m. Wednesday with a win.
•Head coach Johnny Jones has never faced Tarleton State while coaching but squared off against acting head coach Joseph Jones when Joseph Jones was a player at Texas A&M.
• Tarleton State, which is ineligible for the NCAA-sanctioned postseason tournament due to reclassification, fell in the semifinals of the WAC Tournament. The Texans finished 23-9 overall and 16-4 in league play. This marks the first WAC opponent TSU will face since UTRGV in 2021.
• TSU’s Jonathan Cisse is averaging 18.7 points and 3.6 assists over the past 12 games.
• Guard PJ Henry joined the 1,000-point club at TSU on Jan. 29 while TSU head coach Johnny Jones won his 400th career game on March 9 and achieved his 100th career win at TSU on Feb. 19.
• The Tigers are coming off their third straight SWAC Tournament Championship and NCAA Opening Round appearance as they fell to Fairleigh Dickinson last season.
• From Nov. 16-Dec. 17, six of its seven opponents on TSU’s schedule during that span were NCAA Tournament participants. The first contest at home wasn’t until Dec. 21.
• For the fourth straight season, the Texas Southern men’s basketball team was picked to finish first in the Southwestern Athletic Conference preseason poll while senior guard PJ Henry was named the 2023-24 SWAC Preseason Player of the Year. Henry ended up with first team postseason honors.
• TSU, which is led by sixth-year head coach Johnny Jones, has won the past three SWAC Tournament Championships and enters the 2023-24 season looking to earn an unprecedented fourth consecutive NCAA Tournament bid and its eighth over the past 11 years. Only three teams have made three consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances in SWAC history.
• TSU made its fourth consecutive postseason under Jones and third straight NCAA Tournament appearance in 2022-23. Jones went 24-14 in his inaugural year as head coach with three Power 5 conference wins. TSU fell in the finals of the 2019 SWAC Tournament and advanced to the semifinals of the CIT in 2019. In 2019-20, the Tigers made it back to the semifinals of the SWAC Tournament after a third-place regular season finish but saw the season end abruptly due to COVID-19. TSU won the SWAC Tournament and First Four contest in 2021 and was the first SWAC team to beat a ranked opponent from the SEC in 2021 at Florida. TSU claimed another Power 5 non-conference win against Arizona State last season.
• Jones is 60-36 all-time in the month of March and 30-11 at TSU.
Courtesy: TSUSports.com