title image via Tennessee State Athletics
Courtesy of Stephen Featherston, Director of Communications, Tennessee State Athletics
The Tennessee State men’s basketball team will play their final non-conference game of the season tomorrow night as they will take on a red-hot Indianan State team. The Tigers will take on ISU before having nine days off for Christmas break.
The Matchup:
Tennessee State Tigers (7-5, 0-0 OVC) vs. Indiana State (10-1, 2-0 The Valley)
Date/Time: Tuesday, December 19 at 6:00 PM CT
Location: Hulman Center || Terre Haute, Ind.
TV: ESPN+
Radio: WNSR — Greg Pogue (play-by-play), Albert Dawson (analyst)
WHERE TO WATCH & LISTEN: Tune in to WNSR’s flagship network, which includes 560 AM, 95.9 FM (Nashville), and 107.9 FM (Smyrna), as well as WNSR.com, to catch TSU Basketball. The broadcast is also globally available on Sirius XM. WNSR will provide in-depth pregame coverage 15 minutes before tip-off, extensive postgame analysis, exclusive interviews with coaches and players, and behind-the-scenes content for deeper fan engagement. Greg Pogue, “The Voice of the Tigers,” returns for his 12th season, accompanied by Nashville broadcasting legend Albert Dawson. The action can also be streamed on the TSU Tigers app.
SERIES INFORMATION: This will be the second-ever matchup between the Tigers and the Sycamores. TSU and ISU first played in December of 2019 with the Sycamores picking up a 78-72 win in Terre Haute.
BOYCE NOTES & NUMBERS:
31: The number of points that Michael Shanks scored against Boyce. The Belmont transfer logged a new career-high, surpassing his old mark of 16 against Kennesaw State in November of 2021. Shanks connected on five first-half threes against the Bulldogs to head into the break with 19 points. He posted 12 points in the second half and finished 7-of-12 from beyond the arc.
5-of-5+1: TSU had all five of its starters finish in double-figures against Boyce, along with Knute Wood who chipped in 10 off the bench. Shanks led the starters with 31, followed by Marcus Fitzgerald Jr. who tallied 16. Kinyon Hodges finished with 13 points, while E.J. Bellinger (12) and Jaylen Jones (11) rounded out TSU’s starting five.
117: The number of points that TSU scored against Boyce. Saturday’s game was the first time the Tigers had finished with 100+ points since last February when they took down SIUE at home 100-85. The Tigers put up 103 on Boyce in last season’s win. Head coach Brian “Penny” Collins has seen his TSU teams cross the 100-point threshold on seven different occasions. Saturday’s 117-point outing was the most points scored by a TSU team since Collins saw his team defeat Fish 113-61 in his first season at the helm.
THREES PLEASE: TSU knocked down a season-high 13 three-pointers against Boyce. The Tigers finished 54.2 percent from deep, as they went 13-of-24. Shanks led the team with seven made threes, followed by Knute Wood who knocked down two of his four attempts. Justin Williams (2-of-2), Riggs Abner (1-of-1) and Kinyon Hodges (1-of-1) did not miss from beyond the arc.
GIVING SEASON: The Tigers tallied a season-high 22 assists against Boyce. Jaylen Jones led the team with six helpers, while Justin Williams logged four.
BACK IN ACTION: Emmanuel Dowuona returned to the court against Boyce after missing the last seven games due to injury. The 6-10 big man had his best game of the season as he logged five points and pulled down three rebounds in just five minutes. The Purdue transfer has played in just 19 games over the last two seasons after playing in 26 in 2021-22 as a first-year Tiger.
