Texas Southern Tigers
SWAC (22-12, 16-2)
It will be a while before anybody underestimates Texas Southern again. The general consensus heading into the season was that the Tigers would struggle to replace reigning SWAC Player of the Year Aaric Murray. And that is certainly understandable, but Texas Southern managed to find new superstars and dominate the SWAC. And teams like Michigan State and Kansas State certainly underestimated TSU too. And that also proves that this can be a very dangerous team in the postseason. In an eight day span, the Tigers beat the Spartans and the Wildcats with a one point loss to Auburn in the middle.
Big Wins: 12/20 at Michigan State (71-64), 12/28 at Kansas State (58-56), 1/5 at Southern (59-58)
Bad Losses: 11/22 at Norfolk Sate (66-76), 1/24 at MVSU (62-66), 2/7 Prairie View A&M (55-58)
Coach: Mike Davis
Why They Can Surprise:
The focus has shifted to the backcourt where Madarious Gibbs and Deverell Biggs have turned into a potent one-two punch. Gibbs thrives in the open court and can get up and down the floor in a hurry. The quick point guard is also the team’s top scorer and has enough of an outside shot to keep the opposition honest. Biggs is the more efficient three-point shooter. Like Gibbs, small forward Chris Thomas has the toughness to attack the basket to go along with his decent outside shooting. Another 6-5 forward, Malcolm Riley does a lot of work on the glass and is a decent interior scorer who can step out and knock down shots too.
Why They Can Disappoint:
Even though Coach Mike Davis has four solid players to build around and a few role players who are capable of quality outings, this is not a particularly good team on either side of the ball. If it was not for Gibbs and Thomas getting to the foul line on such a regular basis, the offense would have long scoring droughts. And those two do not shoot very well from the line anyway. The defense is no better and it is often quite easy to get into the paint and finish. The turnover margin is among the worst in the SWAC and that could be the biggest problem of all for a team that will have no margin for error in the postseason.
Probable Starters:
Madarious Gibbs, Senior, Guard, 14.1 ppg, 4.3 apg
Deverell Biggs, Senior, Guard, 11.4 ppg, 1.9 apg
Chris Thomas, Junior, Forward, 12.6 ppg, 5.0 rpg
Malcolm Riley, Junior, Forward, 10.2 ppg, 6.5 rpg
Nick Shepherd, Senior, Forward, 2.6 ppg, 2.6 rpg
Key Roleplayers:
David Blanks, Junior, Guard, 6.5 ppg, 1.6 apg
Tonnie Collier, Junior, Forward, 7.3 ppg, 2.8 rpg
By the Numbers:
Scoring Offense: 66.8 (188th in nation, 3rd in conference)
Scoring Defense: 67.2 (193, 5)
Field-Goal Percentage: 44.1 (136, 1)
Field-Goal Defense: 44.0 (229, 5)
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 5.3 (272, 5)
Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 31.1 (298, 4)
Free-Throw Percentage: 65.3 (295, 5)
Rebound Margin: -0.5 (215, 4)
Assists Per Game: 10.6 (298, 4)
Turnovers Per Game: 13.2 (239, 3)
Recent Postseason Appearances:
2014 NCAA First 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 3/8
See All Men’s Basketball Postseason Capsules
