NASHVILLE – The Tennessee State men's basketball team welcomes Belmont on Thursday before traveling to UT Martin on Saturday. 

The Matchup: Tennessee State Tigers (9-13, 4-6 OVC) vs. Belmont Bruins (17-5, 7-2 OVC)
Date/Time: Thursday, February 3 || approx. 7:30 p.m. (CST)
Location: Gentry Center || Nashville, Tenn.

The Matchup: Tennessee State Tigers (9-13, 4-6 OVC) at UT Martin Skyhawks (7-15, 3-7 OVC)
Date/Time: Saturday, February 5 || approx. 3:30 p.m. (CST)
Location: Elam Center || Martin, Tenn.

Watch vs. Belmont: 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 vs Belmont: To follow live coverage of the game through the stats link, click here.

Watch at UTM: ESPN+ will carry the game live.

Listen to UTM: For an audio broadcast, click here.

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

Last Time Out for TSU: Tennessee State completed their three game road trip on Saturday afternoon as TSU fell to Eastern Illinois, 62-57. Carlos Marshall Jr. led the Tigers with 25 points, one-shy of his career-high. Kassim Nicholson grabbed double-digit rebounds for the 10th time this season. Marshall Jr. was the only player to score in double-figures for TSU.

Dog Days of ... January: TSU's coming off a busy January schedule in which they played eight games in 17 days. In back-to-back weeks, the Tigers played three games in five days. The schedule was due to COVID-19 postponements. Tennessee State went 4-6 over a 10-game month as they've won every other game in the past seven.

Normal Occurrence: Kassim Nicholson was named OVC Newcomer of the Week for the fourth time this season. It was the first time he shared the award with another player as UT Martin's KJ Simon earned Co-Newcomer of the Week. Nicholson averaged a double-double over three games with 11.0 points and 10.3 rebounds/game on 50% from the field. The graduate transfer ranks third in the OVC in rebounds (8.4/g) and ninth in field goal percentage (50.8%).

Series History v. Belmont: The Tigers trail in the series, 24-13, as the Bruins have won seven straight games against TSU. The last victory for Tennessee State occured in 2017-18. In the most recent contest (12/18/20), Shakem Johnson logged six points and five rebounds while Monty Johal and Marcus Fitzgerald Jr. logged five points a piece.

Last Time Out for Belmont: The Bruins dominated UT Martin on Saturday to continue a three-game winning streak. Belmont's Grayson Murphy recorded an unconventional double-double with 13 assists, 11 rebounds, two points, three steals and two assists. Five players scored in double-figures, two of which coming off the bench. JaCobi Wood did not start, but tallied a game-high 18 points on 6-of-9 from the field, including 4-of-5 from deep.

All-Time Leader, GOAT, etc.: Grayson Murphy became the Ohio Valley Conference all-time leader in assists (702) on January 24 against Eastern Illinois. Murphy, a graduate student from Franklin, Tenn., eclipsed a 41-year record set by Eastern Kentucky's Bruce Jones

Last Time Out for UT Martin: UT Martin traveled to Nashville last Saturday (1/29) and lost to Belmont, 87-58. UTM's KJ Simon logged a double-double with 17 points and 11 rebounds, along with two blocks and a steal. Belmont's bench out-scored UT Martin, 44-17.  Prior to the meeting against TSU, the Skyhawks will host SEMO on Thursday evening at the Elam Center in Martin, Tennessee.

Social: Follow @TSUTigersMBB on Twitter and Instagram or visit www.tsutigers.com for more information.