Tigers Seek 12th SWAC Tournament Title Saturday Night

• TSU is back in the title game once again and seeks its 12th tournament title as they’ll face Grambling State in a rematch of the 2023 SWAC Tournament Championship at 8:30 p.m. on Saturday night in Birmingham, Ala.

• Since 2010, GSU is 8-25 against TSU but has won eight of the past 16 games as head coach Donte’ Jackson has all the wins during that span. History says the game will be close as eight of the past 16 games have been decided by three points or less. TSU and GSU have battled four times in postseason play since 2014 as TSU is 4-0.

• This time of the year is TSU’s time to shine. TSU has not lost in the championship round since 2019 and has played in the title game the past six of seven years as 2020 was canceled due to COVID-19. TSU has made 11 title game appearances in the past 15 years.

• This marks the first time since 2012 the SWAC Tournament Championship will be held at night. The last time it was at night TSU played in the contest as the title game was in Garland, Texas.

•Head coach Johnny Jones is 13-5 lifetime against Grambling State and 10-5 at TSU.

• TSU is 11-7 all-time in SWAC Championship games. No SWAC team has ever won four tournament titles in a row.

• Picked second in the preseason poll, GSU won the regular season title. Led by seventh-year head coach Donte’ Jackson. GSU and TSU split the season series this season as GSU swept the season series last year for the first time since 2018 but fell to TSU in the SWAC Tournament Championship last March. Dozier Kintavious leads GSU with 13.2 points per game while Antwan Burnett leads the team in rebounding with 6.2.

• TSU’s Jonathan Cisse is averaging 18.7 points and 3.6 assists over the past 11 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 60-35 all-time in the month of March and 30-10 at TSU.