NASHVILLE – The Tennessee State men's basketball team is set to host SIU-Edwardsville and Eastern Illinois on Thursday and Saturday, respectively. On Thursday night, the Gentry Center will welcome Greek Night celebrations, along with Equality and Inclusion Night. On Saturday, the Tigers will honor their senior class in their final game on campus.

The Matchup: Tennessee State Tigers (10-16, 5-9 OVC) vs. SIU-Edwardsville Cougars (9-17, 3-10 OVC)
Date/Time: Thursday, February 17 || approx. 7:30 p.m. (CST)
Location: Gentry Center || Nashville, Tenn.

The Matchup: Tennessee State Tigers (10-16, 5-9 OVC) vs. Eastern Illinois Panthers (5-21, 3-10 OVC)
Date/Time: Saturday, February 19 || approx. 3:30 p.m. (CST)
Location: Gentry Center || Nashville, Tenn.

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

Last Time Out for TSU: Tennessee State fell to Austin Peay on Saturday afternoon, 54-52, after the Governors secured a last second go-ahead basket. APSU's Tariq Silver gave Austin Peay its first lead of the game with less than two seconds remaining. Kassim Nicholson logged a double-double for the ninth time this season, with 10 points and 13 rebounds. Nicholson led the team in rebounds for the 19th straight game.

Big Week at Gentry: Tennessee State will play two games at home this week, with Greek Night celebrations on Thursday and Senior Day on Saturday. It will be the final game at the Gentry Center for Shakem Johnson, Kenny Cooper, Kassim Nicholson and Jalen Dupree.

Equality and Inclusion Night: On Thursday, TSU will be a part of a larger cause as the Tigers participate in the Rising Coaches Diversity, Equality and Inclusion Alliance movement. The purpose is a national campaign for a fight for equality in a national spotlight. Gender equality, economic equality and LGBTQ rights are the main highlights of the foundation. All coaches will wear black on the sideline, along with a lapel pin, to symbolize and display unity.

Series History v. SIUE: The Tigers will meet SIU-Edwardsville for the 17th time on Thursday. In the previous meeting, the Tigers trailed by one at halftime but won the contest by five, 75-70. Kassim Nicholson logged a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds. Marcus Fitzgerald Jr. scored a team-high 18 points, while SIUE's Ray'Sean Taylor recorded a game-high 26 points. Fitzgerald Jr. converted an "and-one" with 25 seconds remaining to extend the lead to two possessions.

Last Time Out for SIUE: SIUE enters the contest with TSU on a two-game winning streak as they defeated Tennessee Tech, 61-60, on Saturday afternoon. DeeJuan Pruitt led the team with a career-high 17 points and a game-high 12 rebounds. Pruitt threw down a two-handed slam dunk to secure the victory over TTU. The Cougars led by 12 at the break, however, the Golden Eagles went on a 27-10 run to take the lead. TTU's John Pettway recorded 18 points and 10 rebounds.

Looking Ahead to EIU: Eastern Illinois battled with Austin Peay, 62-54, on Monday night (2/14) in large part to a 24-for-31 output at the free throw line. The Governors led by 18 at the half, 40-22, but the Panthers cut the deficit to single digits with seven minutes remaining. Paul Bizimana logged a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds, while APSU's Elijah Hutchins-Everett tallied a double-double with 12 points and 10 boards.

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 won every other game over the previous seven.

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