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• Texas Southern starts the second half of SWAC play Saturday afternoon at Grambling State for a 4:30 p.m. tip in Grambling, La. live on the SWAC Digital Network.
• TSU has dropped three straight games entering the second half of league play by an average of three points per game and all in the closing seconds. As a result TSU is in a three-way tie for fourth.
• Texas Southern fell in the finals of the 2024 SWAC Tournament last season and participated in the CIT as they fell to Tarleton State in the opening round.
• TSU returns two starters from last season and eight letterwinners as they lost seven lettermen. The Tigers added seven newcomers to its roster in the offseason as six were added via the transfer portal. The TSU men's basketball duo of Grayson Carter and Kenny Hunter were named to the 2024-25 Preseason All-SWAC Second Team. Hunter was also tabbed the league's Preseason Defensive Player of the Year.
• Since 2010, GSU is 9-26 against TSU but has won nine of the past 18 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 18games have been decided by three points or less. TSU and GSU have battled five times in postseason play since 2014 as TSU is 4-1.
• Head coach Johnny Jones is 14-6 lifetime against Grambling State and 10-6 at TSU.
• The defending SWAC Regular Season and Tournament Champions, GSU is in eighth place entering round two of SWAC play. They're coming off a two-game sweep over Alabama A&M and Alabama State as they've won four of the past six. Kintavious Dozier leads the way with 11.7 points and 3.6 rebounds while Antwan Burnett follows with 11.6 points and 5.9 rebounds. Mikale Stevenson averages 11 points and 4.5 rebounds.
• TSU, which is led by seventh-year head coach Johnny Jones, has won three-of-the-past four SWAC Tournament Championships and enters the 2024-25 season looking to earn its eighth NCAA Tournament bid over the past 12 years.
• 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 in 2022.
• Jones is 99-85 all-time in the month of February and 31-15 at TSU.
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Source: https://tsusports.com/news/2025/2/1...2nd-half-of-swac-play-at-grambling-state.aspx