OPENING TIP: The fifth season under head coach Penny Collins starts on Monday against Jefferson St. rival Fisk at 8 p.m. as part of a TSU/Fisk doubleheader with the women's game starting at 5:30 p.m.
WHERE TO WATCH & LISTEN: TSU expanded its partnership with Cromwell Media naming 102.1 FM The Ville as the flagship station for TSU men's basketball. "The Voice of the Tigers" Greg Pogue returns for his 11th season behind the mic and will be reunited with his longtime partner Albert Dawson. The action can also be heard on the TSU Tigers app.
The Matchup: Tennessee State Tigers (0-0, 0-0 OVC) vs. Fisk Bulldogs (0-1, 0-0 GCAC)
Date/Time: Monday, November 7 at 8:00 pm.
Location: Gentry Center || Nashville, Tenn.
TV: ESPN+ — Jeff Hem (pxp), Ron Slay (analyst), Alexis Pierce (sideline)
Radio: 102.1 FM The Ville — Greg Pogue (pxp), Albert Dawson (analyst)
LIVE STATS
SERIES INFORMATION: The 25th all-time meeting between TSU and Fisk starts the 2022-23 season with the Tigers holding a 21-3 mark against the Bulldogs. The Tigers have won the last 13 meetings dating back to the 1944-45 season. Fisk defeated the Tigers during the 1974 NCAA D2 Regional Semifinals, 65-54, and the other two wins came in back-to-back seasons —Nov. 25, 2022, and Dec. 4, 2003, with the Tigers losing by a combined six points.
Last season, Christian Brown led all scorers with 18 points and was one of five players in double figures to lead the Tigers to a 111-56 win over Fisk on Nov. 16. Dedric Boyd had 15 points and Marcus Fitzgerald Jr. added 13 points
SCOUTING FISK: The Bulldogs are coming off a 61-55 loss to Dalton State on Thursday evening to open their season. Blake Goodman scored 21 points shooting 50 percent from the field and pulled down nine rebounds in 28 minutes. Ralph Davenport and Jamon Reed each had 12 points in the six point loss. Before its contest with Dalton State, Fisk played an exhibition contest against Austin Peay on Nov. 2 and fell to the Govs 89-64. Tyron Thompson led the Bulldogs with 20 points but did not play the following day.
HOME COOKIN':For the first time under the Penny Collins era, the Tigers will be home for the first three games of the regular season. The last time TSU started the season with a homestand at the Gentry Center was during the 2014-15 season under then-head coach Dana Ford. The Tigers went 2-1 with victories against Reinhardt (97-66) and Fisk (75-60). The single loss was to Southern Illinois (67-84).
NUMBER 2: TSU was chosen second in the OVC Preseason Poll as announced by the conference on October 18 in Evansville, Indiana. The second-place prediction was the highest selection for the Tigers under Collins' watch. The last time TSU ranked in the upper echelon of the conference in the preseason was 2012-13 when they were voted second in the then-East division. In its OVC history, TSU has been picked second eight times (1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2004, 2006, 2012, 2022) and first just twice (1993, 1994).
5X ALL-OVC...: Graduate transfer Jr. Clay has the opportunity to be the first-ever OVC player to receive All-OVC honors five times. The Tennessee Tech transfer is already one of the most decorated players in OVC history Last year, he averaged 12.9 points, 3.7 assists and 1.7 steals/per game. Clay is 339 points away from 2,000 in his career. He is 348 points away from tying former Morehead State star Keneth Faried for 19th all-time in OVC scoring. Clay is also 20 steals away from tying Eastern Kentucky's Jamie Ross at 221. Clay's dropped 20 or more points 24 times in his career with his only 30+-point performance vs. Austin Peay during the 2021 season. Clay is expected to play a predominant role on both the offensive and defensive sides of the ball.
THIRD TEAMS BENEFIT: Graduate transfer Zion Griffin will be playing for his third team when he suits up for TSU on Monday. The Darien, Illinois native started his career at Iowa State and spent two seasons with the Hawkeyes before two seasons with Illinois-Chicago. At Iowa State, Griffin played 47 games as a reserve and averaged 2.6 points, 1.8 rebounds, and shot 39 percent from the field. With the Flames, he took the floor in 38 games and made 25 starts. Offensively, he averaged 10.1 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 1.2 assists during his span in Chi-town. Griffin notched a career-best 27 points last season on the road at Robert Morris.
SHUT DOWN THE DOUBTERS: Entering his third season with the Tigers, local product Marcus Fitzgerald Jr. was named to the All-OVC Preseason team with teammates Jr. Clay, Zion Griffin, and Dedric Boyd. Fitzgerald is coming off 12.0 points per game season where he had 23 points in the OVC tournament against SEMO. Earlier in the year, Fitzgerald had another 23-point performance against the Redhawks.
BACK TO BOYD: Dedric Boyd returns for his second and final season at TSU after a solid role as the sixth-man making only three starts out of 32 appearances. Boyd averaged 9.8 points and 2.7 rebounds in 22.1 minutes per game.
