Courtesy of Tennessee State Athletics
TSU men’s basketball is California Dreamin’ looking for its first MTE Tournament Championship under Penny Collins at the SoCal Challenge this week. The Tigers will open the event on Monday against Cal State Northridge at noon local time. High Point and Central Michigan will conclude the Sand Division opening round at 2 pm on Monday. The event will conclude Wednesday afternoon with the consolation game at noon and the championship game at 2 pm. All games will be played at the Pavilion at JSerra in San Juan Capistrano.
WHERE TO WATCH & LISTEN: TSU expanded its partnership with Cromwell Media, naming 102.1 FM The Ville as the flagship TSU men’s basketball station. “The Voice of the Tigers” Greg Pogue returns for his 11th season behind the mic and will be reunited with his longtime partner Albert Dawson. The pregame show will begin 15 minutes before the scheduled start of the contest not the actual tip time in doubleheader situations. The action can also be heard on the TSU Tigers app.
The Matchup: Tennessee State Tigers (3-1, 0-0 OVC) vs CSUN Matadors (1-2, 0-0 Big West)
Date/Time: Monday, November 21 at 12:00 p.m. PT / 2:00 p.m. CT
Location: Pavillion at JSerra || San Juan Capistrano, Calif.
TV: FloHoops
Radio: 102.1 FM The Ville — Greg Pogue (pxp), Nick Guerriero (analyst)
LIVE STATS
CSUN SERIES INFORMATION: The all-time series between TSU and CSUN is tied 1-1 with both games being played in the Pacific timezone. The first meeting took place at the Las Vegas Holiday Classic during the 2004-05 season and the latter nearly four years ago to the date.
LAST TIME OUT VS. CSUN: In his first season as head coach at TSU, Penny Collins matched up against Mark Gottfried’s Matadors. TSU made a second-half surge and trailed by a possession with under a minute remaining but was unable to complete the comeback. Tripp Davis led the Tigers with 20 points.
SCOUTING CSUN: The Matadors are coming off a 55-62 loss to Cal Baptist on Tuesday. In their season opener, they defeated LA Sierra 90-55 before a loss to Utah Tech by six, 63-69. Dionte Bostick leads CSUN with 15.7 points per game and is averaging 22.0 ppg over the last two games. On the glass, Onyi Elysi has pulled down 9.3 boards per contest. The Matadors have three players averaging 9.0 points per game or higher.
HIGH POINT SERIES INFORMATION: Wednesday could potentially be the first all-time meeting between TSU and High Point.
SCOUTING HIGH POINT: High Point is led by Jaden House with 22.8 points, 3.5 rebounds, and shooting 57 percent from the field. Abdoulaye Thiam is second in scoring 17.8 ppg and Zack Austin is third at 16.8 ppg. The Panthers sit 3-1 on the year with wins over Pfeifer, Wofford, and Lees-McRae. They fell to UNLV in the campus game of the SoCal Challenge.
CENTRAL MICHIGAN SERIES INFORMATION: TSU leads the all-time series against Central Michigan 2-1 with the last matchup at the Gentry Center on December 10, 2011. Wednesday’s contest has the potential to be the second time these teams will meet in an in-season event.
LAST TIME OUT VS. CMU: Rob Covington led TSU with 19 points and notched his 50th career double-digit contest to lead the Tigers to a 65-57 win over Central Michigan at the Gentry Center on Dec. 10, 2011. CMU led by as many as 13 points in the opening half but a fierce attack by the Tigers propelled them to victory.
SCOUTING CENTRAL MICHIGAN: Kevin Miller leads the Chippewas heading into the event with 18.7 points and 5.0 assists per contest. Miller had 23 points in a win over Eastern Illinois. Brian Taylor leads the team in rebounds (8.3) and is near double-double numbers at 8.3 points per game.
