NASHVILLE – The Tennessee State men's basketball team continues conference play with a home matinee against Southeast Missouri State on Saturday afternoon. It will be the second game played for TSU in the last 18 days.

The Matchup: Tennessee State Tigers (5-8, 0-1 OVC) vs. SEMO Redhawks (6-10, 1-2 OVC)
Date/Time: Saturday, January 8 || approx. 3:00 p.m. (CST)
Location: Gentry Center || Nashville, Tenn.

Watch: Big Blue Sports Network and ESPN+ will carry the game live with Greg Pogue (play-by-play), Ron Slay (color analyst) and Sami Kincaid (sideline reporter).

Live Stats: To follow live coverage of the game through the stats link, click here.

Series History: TSU and SEMO will meet for the 53rd time on Saturday. The Tigers hold a 28-24 series lead over the Redhawks. However, Southeast Missouri State owns the bragging rights after sweeping the season series last year. SEMO snapped a 23-game losing streak in true road games with a 63-59 victory in the most recent meeting at the Gentry Center. Tennessee State holds a 17-7 advantage in Nashville.

Last Time out for TSU: Tennessee State dropped their OVC opener against UT-Martin, 94-78, on Thursday after a 16-day layoff. Carlos Marshall Jr. led the team with 25 points on 9-of-14 from the field, including 7-of-8 from deep. Kassim Nicholson tallied 12 points and nine rebounds on 5-of-10 shooting. Jalen Dupree posted double-digit scoring for the second consecutive game. Marcus Fitzgerald Jr. added 12 points in the contest as the Nashville native has registered double-figures in 9 of 13 games this season.

Last Time out for SEMO: SEMO fell to Belmont on Thursday night, 102-62. After the Redhawks took a lead in the first half, the Bruins went on a 16-0 soring stretch and ultimately took a 24-point lead into halftime. Eric Reed Jr. led the team with 22 points on 6-of-11 shooting. Nana Akenten posted 19 points on 6-of-8 from the field. As a team, SEMO shot 35.5% from the field while Belmont connected on 60% of their shots. BU dominated the points in the paint, 60-14.

Reed Jr., Leader of the Redhawks: Eric Reed Jr., a junior from Baton Rouge, LA., ranks third in the OVC in total points (247). In terms of conference scoring, Reed Jr. ranks second in the conference with 25.3 points per game against league opponents. In their first OVC victory against Austin Peay, he generated a career-high 34 points. In the last three games, he's knocked down 5.6 three-pointers per contest (17 in total).

Chef Los Cookin': Carlos Marshall Jr. has scored at least 25 points in back-to-back games, the first Tiger to accomplish this feat in 2021-22. Against Campbellsville-Harrodsburg, the Memphis native totaled a career-high 26 points. On Thursday against UT-Martin, he drained seven three-pointers, the most by an individual since Delano Spencer in 2018.

Consistent Nicholson: Kassim Nicholson tallied 12 points and nine rebounds on 5-of-10 shooting against UT-Martin. The graduate transfer from UAB has earned at least 10 points and nine rebounds in six games this season.He ranks second in the conference with 104 rebounds (8.0 rpg).

Fitzgerald Jr. at the Line: Marcus Fitzgerald Jr. converted a season-high 7-of-8 at the free-throw line against UT-Martin. The second-year freshman ranks third in the OVC with a 79.5% free-throw percentage throughout 13 games.

Makeup Dates Set: After two postponements last week, the two rescheduled games have been set with TSU hosting Tennessee Tech on Jan. 17 and visiting Morehead State on Jan. 24.

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