Texas Southern Tigers
SWAC (15-19, 12-6)
Texas Southern finished towards the top of the SWAC in a three way tie for second behind Grambling State. Their experience paid off during the conference tournament as Coach Mike Davis has taken the Tigers to their fourth NCAA Tournament in the last five years.
Big Wins: 3/1 at Southern (90-88), 3/9 vs Prairie View A&M (88-74), 3/10 vs Arkansas-Pine Bluff (84-69)
Bad Losses: 1/13 at Jackson State (80-85), 1/22 Arkansas-Pine Bluff (72-74), 2/19 at Arkansas-Pine Bluff (61-62)
Coach: Mike Davis
Why They Can Surprise:
Texas Southern rarely struggles to score points since they are so good at getting to the free-throw line. Top scorers Demontrae Jefferson and Donte Clark both spend a ton of time at the charity stripe and when this team needs some points, Jefferson and Clark can make it happen. Jefferson is the team’s top scorer with 23.4 points per game and he also dishes out 4.5 assists. Unlike Clark, Jefferson will do a big chunk of his scoring from behind the arc. Clark is an outside shooting threat, but he is much more effective putting his head down and driving to the rim. Derrick Bruce is the other double digit scorer on this team and is another consistent three-point shooter.
Why They Can Disappoint:
Once again Texas Southern does have some size on their roster, most notably 7-2 junior Trayvon Reed. However, this group lacks a dominating interior scorer and, as a whole, struggles on the glass. When Reed is out on the floor with 6-8 senior Marquis Salmon, they certainly have size. However, without Reed, there is no shot blocker and the Tigers are a much smaller team that can only do so much on the glass. The play of Reed is key and Coach Davis needs him to be on the floor as long as possible.
Probable Starters:
Donte Clark, Senior, Guard, 18.6 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 2.6 apg
Demontrae Jefferson, Sophomore, Guard, 23.4 ppg, 4.5 apg
Derrick Bruce, Junior, Guard, 13.9 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 2.0 apg
Cainan McClelland, Freshman, Guard, 2.6 ppg,
Marquis Salmon, Senior, Forward, 5.3 ppg, 6.2 rpg,
Key Role Players:
Brian Carey, Sophomore, Guard, 2.9 ppg, 1.5 apg
Robert Lewis, Junior, Guard, 5.6 ppg,
Lamont Walker, Senior, Forward, 5.7 ppg, 4.4 rpg,
Trayvon Reed, Junior, Center, 9.7 ppg, 8.8 rpg, 2.9 bpg
By the Numbers:
Scoring Offense: 76.7 (90th in nation, 1st in conference)
Scoring Defense: 80.4 (331, 10)
Field-Goal Percentage: 43.5 (242, 1)
Field-Goal Defense: 45.9 (273, 7)
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 7.6 (172, 1)
Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 35.3 (159, 1)
Free-Throw Percentage: 71.5 (163, 1)
Rebound Margin: -2.5 (281, 4)
Assists Per Game: 11.8 (302, 4)
Turnovers Per Game: 12.6 (136, 2)
Recent Postseason Appearances:
2017 NCAA Round of 64 loss to North Carolina
2016 NIT First Round loss to Valparaiso
2015 NCAA Round of 64 loss to Arizona
2014 NCAA Opening Round loss to Cal Poly'
2011 NIT First Round loss to Colorado
2003 NCAA Opening Round loss to UNC-Asheville
1995 NCAA Round of 64 loss to Arkansas
1994 NCAA Round of 64 loss to Duke
1990 NCAA Round of 64 loss to Georgetown
*all team stats through 3/4
