Tigers To Head East For Intense Matchup At LSU On Saturday

• Texas Southern is back in action Saturday afternoon as they’ll head to Baton Rouge, La. to face LSU at 4 p.m. One week later, TSU will return to the capital city to start SWAC play at Southern.

• This marks the third year for TSU head coach Johnny Jones. 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 competed in the CIT. TSU advanced to the semifinals of the CIT in 2019. Last season, 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.

• This marks the third meeting all-time between both programs. LSU won 89-57 in 2000 and 88-80 in 2016 as TSU head coach Johnny Jones was on the opposite sideline in that contest.

• TSU was scheduled to make another West Coast swing but this past Wednesday’s game at Southern Cal was canceled due to a COVID-19 case at USC. The Tigers quickly made an adjustment and scheduled LSU as a result.

• TSU head coach Johnny Jones is 83-52 all-time in the month of December and 5-12 at TSU. Jones is 46-65 all-time against teams in the SEC.

• Saturday’s game marks a homecoming for several players and coaches on the TSU roster. TSU head coach Johnny Jones served as LSU’s head coach from 2012 to 2017 and was a standout player and assistant coach at the university in the 1980s and 90s. TSU senior forward Galen Alexander played his freshman season at LSU under current LSU coach Will Wade and was a teammate of LSU forward Josh LeBlanc at Georgetown last season. TSU senior guard John Jones is a native of Baton Rouge along with TSU assistant coach Shyrone Chatman.

• Three Tigers average double figures as guard Michael Weathers averages 15 points, 4.7 rebounds and 2.4 steals. Forward John Walker III averages 14.6 points and 5.7 rebounds while Galen Alexander averages 11.1 points and 4.4 rebounds.

• TSU was tabbed as the preseason favorite to win the 2020-21 SWAC title in the annual preseason poll with nine lettermen returning and three starters. The Tigers also had a trio of student-athletes earn preseason honors as Yahuza Rasas and Justin Hopkins were named to the first team while Chris Baldwin received second team honors. Experience won’t be an issue as four of the five newcomers are NCAA Division I transfers who sat out last season due to NCAA rules.