• TSU closes its brief homestand on Monday as they’re in an important stretch which has them playing four of their final seven games inside the H&PE Arena as they host Southern 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.
• TSU is coming off a tough loss to Grambling State on Saturday as they battled back from a 21-point deficit, took the lead but couldn’t close out in the final minutes. As a result of back-to-back losses, TSU is now in a three-way tie for third.
• TSU ended a three-game slide to SU last February with a road win as it marked the first win in Baton Rouge since 2019 but SU returned the favor with a win in the opener on Jan. 6. Picked fifth in the preseason poll, SU is off to a surprising record as they sit atop the SWAC with a 10-2 mark under first-year head coach Kevin Johnson. TSU is 20-10 against SU since March 5, 2009 and has won 21 of the past 32 contests since March 5, 2009. However, SU has won the past two contests in Houston.
• TSU head coach Johnny Jones is 7-7 lifetime against Southern University and 0-1 against SU’s Kevin Johnson.
• Guard PJ Henry joined the 1,000-point club at TSU on Jan. 29 while TSU head coach Johnny Jones is five wins from his 400th career win and one win from his 100th career win at TSU.
• 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.
• TSU head coach Johnny Jones is 95-82 all-time in the month of February and 27-12 at TSU.
Courtesy: TSUSports.com