Birmingham, Ala.. - The Jackson State men's basketball open SWAC Tournament play against the No. 3 seeded Texas Southern Tigers at 2 p.m. on Thursday, March 14 at Bartow Arena. 
 
The Tigers enter the 2024 Starry SWAC Men's Basketball Tournament presented by Buick as the No. 6 seed after finishing the regular season with an 11-7 record in SWAC play. TSU finished with a 12-6 conference record. 
 
This will be the third meeting of the season between Jackson State (15-16) and Texas Southern (14-15). The two teams split the first two meetings in the series, with each team winning at home. 
 
This will be the third time the two teams have met in the SWAC Tournament in the last four years. Texas Southern has found great success in the tournament, having won the last three tournaments. TSU has not lost a game in the tournament since the 2019 season, in which the Tigers went 3-3 over the same span of time. 
 
The Matchup

• This will be the 105th meeting in the series, with the Tigers holding a 51-48 lead in the series.
• Texas Southern has won seven of the last 10 meetings in the series and the last two meetings in Birmingham during the Southwestern Athletic Conference Tournament.
• This will be the third meeting between the two teams, and each has won a game on its home floor. 
• Texas Southern is 1-1 in games played at neutral sites, while the Tigers are 2-1 in neutral site games. 
• TSU has won the last three SWAC championships and seven of the last ten, excluding the COVID-19-shortened season. 
• Their last loss in the SWAC tournament came in 2019 to eventual champion Prairie View A&M. 
• Jackson State is 3-3 in SWAC tournament games since TSU's last loss, and two of those losses came at the hands of Texas Southern.

 
2024 Starry SWAC Men's Basketball Tournament

• The Tigers are looking to do something they have not done since 2006-07, which is to win a SWAC tournament championship. 
• Jackson State last played for a SWAC Championship in 2016, when they lost to Southern in the championship game, but went on to play in the NIT.  
• Prior to Coach Mo Williams's arrival, the Tigers had won just three games in the tournament since playing for a championship in 2016.
• The Tigers lost to the No. 2 seeded Gambling State Tigers last year after defeating Prairie View A&M in the quarterfinal round.  

 
Defying the Odds

• At one point in the season, Jackson State was down to just six scholarship players and rotating walk-ons in the game. 
• Still, without three of the key players and with one currently injured, the Tigers found a way to win 11 games in SWAC play and made the top eight to gain access to the SWAC tournament. 
• Many guys were asked to play roles that they didn't sign up for, but they battled through ups and downs to find a way to finish sixth in the final SWAC regular season standings to play in Birmingham.
• For the first time since 2021, the Tigers have the SWAC Player and Defensive Player of the Year on the same team.

 
Scouting Texas Southern 

• TSU comes into the game with a 14-15 record, having won seven of their last 10 games. 
• No matter the record, the Texas Southern team we see in late March at the SWAC Tournament is a different team altogether from the one in the regular season. 
• The Tigers have won the last three SWAC Tournament Championships and are 11-1 in the last five tournaments, with the only loss coming in 2019 against Prairie View A&M.
• PJ Henry, who leads the team in points and steals, is the team captain. He is also second in assists and rebound average. 
• They are averaging 70.1 points per game as a team and giving up 71.1.
• They turn their opponents over 12.9 times a game and grab 35.7 rebounds per game. 
• They are looking to become the first team to win four consecutive SWAC Tournament Championships, and Coach Johnny Jones can become the first coach in the SWAC's history to accomplish that milestone.

 
Evans Reaches 1000 Points

• Ken Evans Jr. hit a 3-pointer from the top of the key with 6:05 to play in the first half against Texas Southern to become the 23rd JSU Tiger (according to the 2007-08 media guide and research) to score over 1,000 career points.  
• In the game against Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Evans scored a career-high 37 points, 25 of which came in the first half, a first for him. 
• Evans leads the Tigers and the SWAC, averaging 18.9 points per game while shooting over 40 percent from the floor and beyond the 3-point arc.  
• Evans has now scored double figures in 22 consecutive games dating back to Howard on Dec. 16 and has scored 10 points or more in each game this season except two. He scored 20 or more points on 11 different occasions and 30 or more points three times, including a career-high of 37 against UAPB.
• He has scored 10 or more points in each conference game he has played this season. 
• Evans has scored 1,262 points for his career, which places him 20th on the Jackson State basketball all-time list. 
• When he scored his 1,000th point, he joined such greats as Lindsey Hunter, Audie Norris, Grant Maxey, Jeffery Hart, and Trey Johnson
• Evans has now scored 585 points, which passes Purvis Short's 564 points scored during the 1993-94 season.

 
Chase is about Sharing

• Chase Adams is one of the best point guards in the country, and he can play with the best of them. 
• He has recorded 101 assists this season and 219 assists in his two years at Jackson State, which is 12th according to the 2007-08 men's basketball media guide. 
• He is currently averaging 4.2 assists per game. 
• His season-high is eight, and he recorded that twice, once against Alcorn State on Jan. 6 and then again against Bethune-Cookman on Jan. 27.
• Adams is second in the SWAC in assists and assist/turnover ratio (4.35).

 
O'Neal Coming into his Own

• O'Neal is in his first season with the Tigers after transferring from Alabama State last season. 
• During his time with the Hornets, he scored 508 points, had 95 blocks, 45 steals, 52 assists, and 390 rebounds while shooting 63.4 percent from the floor. He shot 50 percent from the floor in 2022-23 while at Alabama State. 
• He is second on the team in scoring, averaging 12.7 points and 6.1 rebounds while shooting over 60 percent from the floor. He currently leads the SWAC in field goal percentage and block shots.
• He scored a career-high 24 points against North Carolina A&T on Dec. 17. O'Neal has recorded over 500 career rebounds.

 
Tiger Tails

• Coach Mo is in his fourth year as head coach and second at Jackson State. He was born in Jackson, Mississippi.
• Williams attended Murrah High School, where he had a successful career, earning him a scholarship to Alabama. 
• In his first year at Jackson State, he went 12-6 in SWAC play despite being picked to finish seventh. 
• He followed up the 12-6 season with an 11-7 season, despite the considerable number of injuries to the players. 
• Coach Williams is 4-5 all-time against Texas Southern, and he is 2-2 since taking over as head coach at Jackson State, which includes a 1-1 record this season.

 
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