HOUSTON, Texas | For the fifth time this season, Jackson State hits the road to face a nationally-ranked opponent, facing No. 7/8 Houston inside the Fertitta Center on Wednesday night. The game is scheduled for 7 p.m. on ESPN+.

Daeshun Ruffin leads the team in scoring through the first eight games this season, averaging 15.4 points per game and 3.3 assists per ganme. He is also shooting 36.8 [35-of-95] percent from the floor and 82.1 [32-of-39] percent from the free throw line, and enters after a 28-point performance on the road at Kennesaw State in the Tigers' last game on Dec. 2. He is joined in double figures by Jayme Mitchell Jr. averaging 13.5 points per game and 4.1 rebounds per game, while shooting 45.6 [36-of-79] percent from the floor and 43.6 [17-of-39] percent from beyond the arc.

Meanwhile, Dorian McMillian is averaging 11.3 points and 3.4 rebounds per game while shooting 33.7 [35-of-104] percent from the floor and 70.0 [7-of-10] percent from the free throw line.

The meeting between the two will be the third [all in the Mo Williams era], with Houston winning both including the season opener in 2024-25.

Game Info - Jackson State at No. 7/8 Houston
Wednesday, Dec. 10 | 7:00 p.m. | Fertitta Center
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Game Notes

• The Tigers will be play the first of two road games in four days tonight before heading to Evanston [Ill.] for an early afternoon game at Northwestern. The games are the eighth and ninth on the road to open the season.
• This game marks the fifth game against a nationally-ranked opponent after Jackson State has faced [ranked at the time] Illinois [17th], Louisville [11th], Auburn [20th], and Arkansas [14th] so far this season.
• Williams has faced Houston the last two seasons, dropping both games, including the season-opener last season.
• Mike Williams had a career game against Kennesaw State finishing with a career-high 12 points.
• Ruffin was named the SWAC Impact Player of the Week for the first week of the season after he averaged 17.0 points per game in the two games of the season against No. 14/17 Illinois and No. 10/11 Louisville on the road. 
• Delyle Williams got his first start of the year with Ruffin missing the Winthrop game [11.23]. 
• The Tigers return a pair of starters from last season in Ruffin and McMillian, with McMillian earning Freshman of the Year honors last season. He returns as a Preseason Second-Team selection, while Ruffin returns as the top scorer in the conference and was named Preseason Player of the Year.
• Williams will have two sons on the bench [at least at some point this season] with his son KyDarrius serving as a an assistant coach, while another of his sons - Mike - comes in as a highly-touted recruit from Germantown High School.
• Mitchell missed his career high in points by just two when he scored 24 points against Auburn, while Ebo Wilson equaled his career-high with eight rebounds.
• The home game against Winthrop was the first non-conference home game in six years.
• Jackson State held Louisiana to 45 points, the lowest point total an opponent has scored since Mississippi Valley State [Feb. 8] was held to 44 in Jackson State win in the lone win of the 2025 season.

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