Courtesy of Tennessee State Athletics
The Tennessee State men’s basketball team was selected to finish third for the upcoming 2023-24 season, as announced by the Ohio Valley Conference on Tuesday morning at its Preseason Media Day event at the Ford Center.
Under the leadership of sixth-year head coach Brian “Penny” Collins, the Tigers received two first-place votes. Morehead State was chosen first, and SIUE was picked second, yet neither received a first-place vote from any of the OVC head coaches or communications directors.
Junior Marcus Fitzgerald Jr. and senior transfer Kinyon Hodges were both named to the Preseason All-Ohio Valley Conference Team.
Fitzgerald Jr. finished the season with 13.6 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 3.2 assists per game. He achieved double figures in 22 games, with his season-best performance against Brescia where he scored 30 points.
Hodges, a transfer from Eastern Illinois, averaged 14.4 points and 3.5 rebounds per game, shooting 50 percent from the field in his sole season with the Panthers. Hodges concluded the season with 23 games in double figures, including six with 20 or more points.
TSU opens the 2023-24 season on November 6 at the Gentry Center against Fisk at 8 PM.
2023-24 OVC Men’s Basketball Predicted Order of Finish
1. Morehead State (20 first-place votes) – 200 points
2. SIUE – 162
3. Tennessee State (2) – 153
4. UT Martin – 149
5. Southeast Missouri – 124
6. Tennessee Tech – 120
7. Little Rock – 85
8. Western Illinois – 80
9. Southern Indiana – 63
10. Lindenwood – 40
11. Eastern Illinois – 34
2023-24 Preseason All-OVC Men’s Basketball Team
Preseason OVC Player of the Year: Mark Freeman, Morehead State
Keenon Cole, Lindenwood
KK Curry, UT Martin
Marcus Fitzgerald Jr., Tennessee State
Mark Freeman, Morehead State
DeAntoni Gordon, Little Rock
Jayvis Harvey, Tennessee Tech
Kinyon Hodges, Tennessee State
Damarco Minor, SIUE
Jordan Sears, UT Martin
Ray’Sean Taylor, SIUE
Drew Thelwell, Morehead State
Shamar Wright, SIUE
