OPENING TIP: Tennessee State will look for its fifth straight win on Saturday when local foe Tennessee Tech comes to town. Tech, now the closest opponent to TSU after Belmont skipped out of the OVC, sits tied for second in the league standings. A win would put TSU into a tie with the Golden Eagles and could advance TSU as high as third in the OVC entering the final two weeks of the regular season. Looking past Saturday, TSU will travel to OVC leader Morehead State for a nationally televised game on ESPNU next Thursday at 9 PM ET / 8 PM CT. 

TENNESSEE TECH SERIES INFORMATION: Saturday is the 76th all-time meeting between TSU and Tennessee Tech with the Tigers holding a 38-37 mark over the Golden Eagles. Tennessee Tech snapped TSU's three-game winning streak over the Golden Eagles with a 71-63 win in Cookeville on Jan. 14. TSU head coach Penny Collins boasts a 6-3 mark against the Golden Eagles. Last season, TSU defeated TTU 80-64 at the Gentry Center on Jan. 17 and then thumped them 92-56, in the largest OVC margin of victory during the Collins era. 

LAST TIME OUT VS. TTU: In his return to Cookeville, Jr. Clay finished with 22 points but a second-half surge by the Golden Eagles ruined the reunion party. Zion Griffin and Adong Makuoi each finished with 14 points. Makuoi added 10 rebounds for the double-double. TSU played the contest without Marcus Fitzgerald Jr. who was battling a day-to-day injury at the time. Tennessee Tech was led by Ty Perry with 15 points. Jayvis Harvey added 14 points, Jaylen Sebree had 11 points and Brett Thompson had 10. 

SCOUTING TENNESSEE TECH: The Golden Eagles are 3-3 in their last six games but have won the last two against SEMO and Southern Indiana. In Thursday's win over the Soaring Eagles, Brett Thompson had a game-high 21 points and Jaylen Sabree finished with 20 points. TTU shot 50 percent from the field and knocked down 12 three-pointers. Sebree leads the team in points (14.7) and rebounds (6.8) per contest. Jayvis Harvey is second at 12.0 and Thompson is third (11.0). Perry has knocked down half of his 3-pointers in OVC play shooting 37 percent from beyond the arc.

LONGEST WINNING STREAK: TSU is on a four-game winning streak, its longest under the Penny Collins era. The last time TSU won four straight games was during the 2017-18 season when then-head coach Dana Ford put together a six-game streak from Jan.25 until Feb. 15. The Tigers then dropped the next three OVC games including the opening round of the conference tournament. Before that, TSU started the 2016-17 season on another six-game winning streak. Over the past 10 seasons, TSU has won four or more consecutive games six times with the longest being a seven-game streak that occurred twice. Ford is responsible for four of those streaks with Collins and Travis Williams each with one. 

BROWN RETURNS: In just his second of a possible 13 OVC games, Christian Brown returned to the lineup against SEMO since being injured against Morehead State on December 29. Brown finished with 13 points, and three rebounds, and shot 50 percent from the field. Brown is the second-leading scorer on the squad at 14.1 points per game.

CLAY DOES IT AGAIN: Jr. Clay finished with a game-high 23 points and eight rebounds to lead TSU to victory in 34 minutes. Clay shot 8-of-17 from the field and nailed 5-of-8 from the line. 

30TH 3-BALL PARTY: Under fifth-year head coach Penny Collins, TSU has knocked down 10 or more three-pointers in a single game 31 times. So far this season, the Tigers have done it 12 times. 

HONORING BASKETBALL LEGENDS THIS WEEK: This week, TSU will honor past legends during halftime ceremonies on Thursday vs. SEMO and Saturday against Tennessee Tech. On Thursday, TSU will honor the three-peat teams that won NAIA National Championships in 1957, '58, and '59. TSU's lone retired jersey honoree Dick Barnett will be in attendance to cheer on TSU. On Friday, the University will have a special showing of Dick Barnett's documentary "The Dream Whisperer"n the midst of segregation, the all-black Tennessee A&I Tigers were the first collegiate basketball team to win three consecutive national championships. Finally, the weekend will conclude with the 30th anniversary of the 1992-93 OVC Championship team, the first non-PWI team to win a conference basketball tournament.