TSU Men's Hoops Earns No. 2 Seed in OVC Tournament

NASHVILLE, Tennessee -- Tennessee State University men's basketball locked in the No. 2 seed and will play in the semifinal round of the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament on Friday, March 2 at Nashville's Municipal Auditorium.

The Tigers (19-11, 11-5 OVC) will play either the No. 3 seed Morehead State, No. 6 seed Austin Peay or the No. 7 seed Jacksonville State. TSU is a combined 3-2 against those three opponents this season.

Friday's tip time is at 8 p.m. ESPN carries the semifinal round as Bob Wischusen and Fran Fraschilla call the action.

For the first time since 1995-96, the Tigers are the No. 2 seed in the OVC Tournament. That season, Tennessee State defeated No. 7 Morehead State, 71-60, in the quarterfinals. However, TSU lost 83-62 to No. 3 Austin Peay in the semi-finals.

TSU last appeared in the NCAA tournament in 1994 after upending top-seeded Murray State 73-72 to win the OVC Tournament title. The Big Blue advanced to play the Kentucky Wildcats, falling 83-70 in the NCAA opening round.

Coach John Cooper has lifted the Tigers to a winning season for the first time in 16 years. The Tigers are just a win shy of reaching 20 for the first time since the 1978-79 campaign.

There has been several firsts for the men's basketball program including a 64-63 win over South Carolina (the first over an SEC opponent) and a 72-68 victory at No. 7/9 Murray State (the first over a NCAA D-I ranked team). The Tigers' nine-game win streak was snapped on Feb. 23 with a 80-62 loss to No. 12/14 Murray State.

Junior forward Robert Covington leads the Tigers with 18.1 points and 8.1 rebounds per game. Covington has reached double-figures in 29 straight games. He leads the OVC with nine double-doubles and has 19 in his illustrious three-year career.

Also in double-digits, sophomore guard Patrick Miller boasts 10.9 points and a team-best 103 assists.

COURTESY: TENNESSEE STATE UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION