Tigers Set To Tangle With Alcorn State For Important SWAC Battle Monday Night

• TSU returns to action Monday night against Alcorn State inside the H&PE Arena at 7:30 p.m.

• 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.

• With tournament seeding on the line, the next two games are important as TSU is a half-game ahead of Alcorn State and Southern and a full game ahead of Bethune-Cookman.

• Head coach Johnny Jones is 6-6 lifetime against Alcorn State and 4-4 against ASU’s Landon Bussie.

• TSU’s 25-game win streak over ASU came to an end in January of 2020 as the series has evened out with a 5-6 mark in favor of ASU. TSU is on a two-game winning streak over the Braves currently but ASU has won the past two games in Houston.

• Picked third in the SWAC Preseason poll, ASU holds a 10-5 SWAC mark as Jeremiah Kendall leads the way with 16.1 points. Jeremiah Grambrell follows with 12.6 points while Byron Joshua follows with 11.3 points. Kendall also leads the team with 6.8 boards.

• Head coach Johnny Jones is 6-6 lifetime against Alcorn State and 4-4 against ASU’s Landon Bussie.

• Guard PJ Henry joined the 1,000-point club at TSU on Jan. 29 while TSU head coach Johnny Jones is one win from his 400th career win and just 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.

• 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.

• 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 57-34 all-time in the month of March and 27-9 at TSU.