NASHVILLE – The Tennessee State men's basketball team will travel to Evansville, Indiana for the OVC Basketball Championships, taking place March 2 through March 5 at the Ford Center. 

The Matchup: No. 5 Tennessee State Tigers (13-17, 8-10 OVC) vs. No. 8 SIU-Edwardsville Cougars (11-20, 5-13 OVC)
Date/Time: Wednesday, March 2 || 6:30 p.m. (CST)
Location: Ford Center || Evansville, Ind.

Watch v. SIUE: ESPN+ will carry the game live with Connor Onion and Marcus Wilson on the call.
Live Stats: To follow live coverage of the game through the stats link, click here.

Series History vs. SIUE: The Tigers will meet SIU-Edwardsville for the 18th time in series history. It will be the first meeting in the OVC Tournament. In the previous contest, TSU celebrated Greek Night with a dominating victory, 81-65, on February 17. Nicholson recorded his tenth double-double of the season with 18 points and 10 rebounds. Five Tigers scored in double-figures, including Monty Johal with 10 points on 4-of-5 from the field. The Tigers swept SIUE in two games, out-scoring the Cougars by 21, 156-135.

Last Time Out for TSU: The Tigers traveled across town and fell to Belmont, 87-67, on Saturday afternoon. Kassim Nicholson secured his 11th double-double of the year with 17 points and 11 rebounds. Carlos Marshall Jr. added 17 points on 7-of-10 from the field. It was the final regular season contest against Belmont as members of the OVC.

Last Time Out for SIUE: The Cougars upset over Morehead State on Saturday, 77-70, catapulted SIUE into the eighth and final spot in the OVC Tournament. Shamar Wright posted a career-high 21 points as four players registered double-figures in scoring. SIUE connected on 11 three-pointers, six of which in the first half. The Cougars never trailed in the second half.

All-OVC Honors: Carlos Marshall Jr. and Kassim Nicholson earned second-team honors in the Ohio Valley Conference. Marshall Jr. averaged a team-leading 12.9 points per game, while Nicholson averaged 11.6 points and 8.4 rebounds per game. Nicholson, a graduate transfer from UAB, shot 50.9% from the field in 30.7 minutes per game.

Penny's Vision: With 10 newcomers on the roster to begin the year, head coach Brian "Penny" Collins preached that he expected his team to play their best brand of basketball heading into conference play and the tournament. This vision has come to fruition as the Tigers have won three of the last four games to end the regular season. TSU earned the No. 5 seed, trailing SEMO by a half-game as the Redhawks had a cancellation with Tennessee Tech that was not rescheduled.

Nicholson Dominating: Kassim Nicholson leads the team in rebounding and ranks third in scoring. In terms of the OVC, the UAB transfer ranks second in the conference with 11 double-doubles. He's tallied at least ten points and nine rebounds in the last five of the last seven games, including four double-doubles.

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