Tennessee State Tigers
2023–24 Tennessee State Tigers basketball team
UniversityTennessee State University
Head coachBrian "Penny" Collins (6th season)
ConferenceOhio Valley
LocationNashville, Tennessee
ArenaGentry Complex
(Capacity: 9,100)
NicknameTigers
ColorsReflex blue and white[1]
   
NCAA tournament runner-up
1970*, 1973*
NCAA tournament Final Four
1970*, 1972*, 1973*, 1975*
NCAA tournament appearances
1967*, 1970*, 1971*, 1972*, 1973*, 1974*, 1975*, 1993, 1994
*at Division II level
NAIA tournament champions
1957, 1958, 1959
NAIA semifinals
1957, 1958, 1959, 1960
Conference tournament champions
1993, 1994
Conference regular season champions
1993, 1995

The Tennessee State Tigers basketball team represents Tennessee State University (TSU) in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. The school's team currently competes in the NCAA Division I's Ohio Valley Conference. They play their home games at the Gentry Complex and are led by fourth-year head coach Brian "Penny" Collins.[2]

While they were a member of the NAIA, they were three time national champions (1957, 1958, 1959). TSU was the first team to win three consecutive basketball national championships at any level of college basketball – a feat only repeated once as of 2021, by Kentucky State (1970, 1971, 1972) The 1957 championship made TSU the first historically black college to win a national championship. The team was coached by Harold Hunter from 1960 to 1968.[3] Hunter still holds the record as the second-winningest men's basketball coach in Tennessee State's history.[4] Hunter had succeeded outgoing coach John McLendon, who left in 1959.[3]

Seventeen former Tennessee State Tigers have played in the NBA; the best known are Ben Warley, Robert Covington, Dick Barnett, John Barnhill, Truck Robinson, Anthony Mason and Carlos Rogers.

Postseason results

NCAA Division I Tournament results

The Tigers have appeared in two NCAA Division I Tournaments. Their combined record is 0–2.

Year Round Opponent Result
1993First roundSeton HallL 59–81
1994First roundKentuckyL 70–83

NCAA Division II Tournament results

The Tigers have appeared in seven NCAA Division II Tournaments. Their record is 18–8.

Year Round Opponent Result
1967Regional semifinals
Regional 3rd-place game
South Carolina State
Stetson
L 59–66
W 65–53
1970Regional semifinals
Regional Finals
Elite Eight
Final Four
National Championship Game
Bellarmine
Kentucky Wesleyan
South Dakota State
Buffalo State
Philadelphia
W 82–77
W 75–73
W 92–89
W 101–80
L 65–76
1971Regional semifinals
Regional Finals
Louisiana Tech
Louisiana–Lafayette
W 92–91 OT
L 82–86
1972Regional semifinals
Regional Finals
Elite Eight
Final Four
National 3rd-place game
New Orleans
Delta State
Southampton
Akron
Eastern Michigan
W 80–79
W 79–73
W 95–55
L 69–71 OT
W 107–82
1973Regional semifinals
Regional Finals
Elite Eight
Final Four
National Championship Game
Transylvania
Southeastern Louisiana
Akron
Assumption
Kentucky Wesleyan
W 53–45
W 62–54 OT
W 54–50
W 106–76
L 76–78 OT
1974Regional semifinals
Regional 3rd-place game
Fisk
Southern
L 54–65
W 98–88
1975Regional semifinals
Regional Finals
Elite Eight
Final Four
National 3rd-place game
Armstrong Atlantic State
Chattanooga
Akron
Old Dominion
Assumption
W 63–53
W 82–81
W 72–69
L 60–77
L 80–88

NAIA Tournament results

The Tigers have appeared in seven NAIA Tournaments. Their combined record is 23–4 and are three time national champions (1957, 1958, 1959). Those same teams were later announced as inductees into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame on April 6, 2019, with those teams being "the first collegiate team to win back-to-back-to-back championships."[5]

Year Round Opponent Result
1953First round
Second Round
Quarterfinals
Geneva
Benedictine (KS)
Texas A&M–Commerce
W 89–88
W 79–56
L 67–72
1954First roundRegis (CO)L 58–61
1956First round
Second Round
Quarterfinals
Indianapolis
Wisconsin-Eau Claire
McNeese State
W 84–76
W 62–61
L 68–76
1957First round
Second Round
Quarterfinals
Semifinals
National Championship Game
Adrian
Portland
Western Illinois
Pacific Lutheran
Southeastern Oklahoma State
W 87–69
W 87–70
W 90–88
W 71–70
W 92–73
1958First round
Second Round
Quarterfinals
Semifinals
National Championship Game
Northern Michigan
Anderson (IN)
Texas A&M-Commerce
Texas Southern
Western Illinois
W 113–45
W 77–56
W 81–62
W 110–85
W 85–73
1959First round
Second Round
Quarterfinals
Semifinals
National Championship Game
Nebraska Wesleyan
Youngstown State
Illinois State
Texas State
Pacific Lutheran
W 75–57
W 89–80
W 131–74
W 64–62
W 97–87
1960First round
Second Round
Quarterfinals
Semifinals
National 3rd-place game
Midwestern State
West Virginia Wesleyan
Wofford
Westminster (PA)
William Jewell
W 102–83
W 84–79
W 75–60
L 38–39
W 100–65

CIT results

The Tigers have appeared in three CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournaments (CIT). Their combined record is 0–3. They accepted an invitation to the 2020 CIT before it was cancelled amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Year Round Opponent Result
2012First roundMercerL 60–68
2013First roundEvansvilleL 72–84
2016First roundBall StateL 73–78 2OT
2020First roundCancelled

References

  1. Tennessee State University Brand Guide (PDF). December 31, 2020. Retrieved August 26, 2022.
  2. Organ, Mike (March 26, 2018). "Brian 'Penny' Collins hired as Tennessee State basketball coach". The Tennessean. Retrieved July 26, 2018.
  3. 1 2 "Former Tennessee State basketball coach Harold Hunter dies". The City Paper. 2013-03-07. Archived from the original on 2013-11-02. Retrieved 2013-03-30.
  4. "NBA pioneer Harold Hunter, an ex-Xavier coach, died Thursday". Times-Picayune. 2013-03-07. Retrieved 2013-03-30.
  5. "Divac, Sikma, Moncrief headline Hall of Fame Class of 2019". NBA.com.
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