LORMAN, Miss. – The Alcorn State University men's basketball program will face the third-seeded Texas Southern Tigers once again in a loser-goes-home contest at 2 p.m. on Thursday afternoon after squaring off exactly one week prior in Houston.
The Braves (6-12, 6-7 SWAC) will be the sixth seed in the SWAC Tournament and lost by just two points when the two teams played last Thursday as TSU rallied from a halftime deficit to win, 80-78.
On a national scale, Alcorn is among the top-35 best teams in forcing turnovers (15.75), top-55 in fewest turnovers (224), just outside the top-60 in steals per game (7.6), top-75 for free-throw percentage (73.8) and among the top-100 for both fewest fouls (333) plus turnover margin (1.8).
Troymain Crosby was named to the All-SWAC First Team and is the driving force behind the Alcorn offense, ranking second in the conference and top-30 nationally in points per game (19.9), places second in the league for both free throws made (86) and attempts (105) and top-five for field goal percentage (46.2).
Kurk Lee has been a revelation for Coach Bussie after transferring in from Drexel, recording the 36th-highest free throw percentage in the NCAA at 87.5 and placing top-five in the conference for assists per game (4.1) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.75).
Oddyst Walker rounds out the Braves in the SWAC's top-five, averaging 1.64 steals per game while
Tyree Corbett slots in the top-ten for offensive rebounding average (1.87).
Texas Southern (11-8, 8-3 SWAC) has started to catch fire down the home stretch, winning each of its last four contests by double-figures and is currently projected for the #3 seed in the tournament.
The maroon and silver are one of the best rebounding teams in the country, pulling down the sixth-most boards per game at 41.11, the 12th-highest defensive rebounds per game (28.89) and a top-40 placement for offensive rebounds per game (12.21) and rebound margin (5.4).
The Tigers are led by All-Conference First Teamer and SWAC Newcomer of the Year Michael Weathers. Weathers averages 2.41 steals per game, the 14th-best mark in the NCAA while among the top-five in the conference for points per game (15.4), assists per game (3.4), field-goal percentage (49.2) and free-throw percentage (76.5).
NOTES
- Texas Southern presently sports a 63-55 advantage in 118 meetings in program history.
- The last time these two teams went head-to-head in the SWAC Tournament was 2016-17, when the second-seeded Braves and top-seeded Tigers battled for the SWAC Championship with TSU ekeing out a 53-50 victory to earn a berth to the NCAA Tournament.
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