Recent Play Details

Texas Southern knows its way around Dayton, but the Tigers took an unusual path to get here this season. Texas Southern has made the NCAA Tournament four times in the last six years and has played in Dayton’s opening round three times since 2018, winning all three of those. But this year’s path to Dayton looks a lot different than years’ past because Texas Southern was 12-19 entering the SWAC Tournament. The Tigers rolled through the conference tournament as a No. 8 seed, beating Alabama State, Prairie View A&M and Arkansas Pine Bluff by 14+ in each game. The Tigers’ early-season slump can be pointed toward two things: 1) They traditionally play one of the toughest non-conference schedules in the country, and this year was no exception. According to KenPom, Texas Southern played the No. 4 non-conference schedule with seven top-100 opponents. 2) The Tigers had to navigate some injuries, particularly to center Joirdon Karl Nicholas. The 6-9 senior missed four of Texas Southern’s first five SWAC games, and they lost all four of them. Since his return, the Tigers have gone 10-6 and Nicholas has three double-doubles in his last six games. According to KenPom’s metrics, Fairleigh Dickinson played the easiest schedule in the country this season, and only played one opponent in the top-150 (Pitt). That’s hard to ignore. The Knights’ full-court press will probably cause Texas Southern some problems, but the Tigers should have a huge advantage on the glass. Texas Southern led the SWAC in defensive rebounding rate. The Tigers will start four players at 6-5 or taller, including two at 6-9. Fairleigh Dickinson doesn’t have anyone taller than 6-6 on its roster. Lay the small number with Texas State.