2023–24 Tennessee State Tigers basketball team

2023–24 Tennessee State Tigers basketball
2023–24 Tennessee State Tigers basketball
Conference	Ohio Valley Conference
Record	18–15 (10–8 OVC)
Head coach	Brian Collins (6th season);
Assistant coaches	Jeremy Lewis; Russ Willemsen; Joshua Bone Jr.;
Home arena	Gentry Complex
	Seasons ← 2022–23 2024–25 →

2023–24 Ohio Valley Conference men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf.				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
Little Rock	14	–	4	.778	21	–	13	.618
UT Martin	14	–	4	.778	21	–	11	.656
Morehead State †	14	–	4	.778	26	–	9	.743
Western Illinois	13	–	5	.722	21	–	12	.636
Tennessee State	10	–	8	.556	18	–	15	.545
SIU Edwardsville	9	–	9	.500	17	–	16	.515
Eastern Illinois	8	–	10	.444	14	–	18	.438
Southern Indiana*	5	–	13	.278	8	–	24	.250
Tennessee Tech	5	–	13	.278	10	–	21	.323
Southeast Missouri State	4	–	14	.222	9	–	22	.290
Lindenwood*	3	–	15	.167	9	–	22	.290

† 2024 OVC tournament winner * ineligible for the 2024 NCAA tournament due to transition period

The 2023–24 Tennessee State Tigers basketball team represented Tennessee State University during the 2023–24 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Tigers, led by sixth-year head coach Brian Collins, played their home games at the Gentry Complex in Nashville, Tennessee as members of the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC).

The Tigers finished the season 18–15, 10–8 in OVC play, to finish in fifth place.^[1] They defeated Southern Indiana^[2] before falling to Western Illinois in the quarterfinals of the OVC tournament.^[3]

Previous season

The Tigers finished the 2022–23 season 18–14, 10–8 in OVC play, to finish in a three-way tie for third place.^[4] As the No. 4 seed in the OVC tournament, they lost in the quarterfinals to Southeast Missouri State.^[5]

Roster

2023–24 Tennessee State Tigers men's basketball team

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Weight	Year	Previous school	Hometown
G	0	Jaylen Jones	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	160 lb (73 kg)	Fr	East Magnet HS	Nashville, TN
G	1	Marcus Jr. Fitzgerald	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	182 lb (83 kg)	Jr	Pearl-Cohn HS	Nashville, TN
G	2	Christian Brown	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	GS	Georgia	Hopkins, SC
G	3	Riggs Abner	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	RS So	Green Hill HS	Mt. Juliet, TN
G	4	John III Gamble	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	Fr	Charlotte HS	Port Charlotte, FL
G	5	E.J. Bellinger	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	GS	Belmont	St. Peters, MO
G	10	Kinyon Hodges	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	Sr	Eastern Illinois	Cape Girardeau, MO
G	11	Justin Williams	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	Jr	West LA College	Los Angeles, CA
G	12	Denim Dawson	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	193 lb (88 kg)	RS So	Nebraska	San Bernardino, CA
F	13	Michael Shanks	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	Sr	Belmont	Bentonville, AR
G	20	Jai Howard	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	—	Jr	Chatt State	Birmingham, AL
F	23	Emmanuel Dowuona	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	245 lb (111 kg)	GS	Purdue	Miami, FL
F	24	Elijah Jointer	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	230 lb (104 kg)	Fr	Mount Carmel HS	Chicago, IL
F	33	Jason Jitoboh	6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)	300 lb (136 kg)	Sr	Florida	Abuja, Nigeria
F	44	David Acosta	6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)	247 lb (112 kg)	GS	Cloud County CC	Santiago, Dominican Republic
G	55	Knute Wood	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	191 lb (87 kg)	RS Fr	Brooks HS	Killen, AL

Head coach

Brian Collins (Belmont)

Assistant coach(es)

Jeremy Lewis (Cumberland)
Joshua Bone Jr. (Tennessee)

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
(W) Walk-on

Injured
Current redshirt

Roster
Last update: November 28, 2023

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	Site (attendance) city, state
Non-conference regular season
November 6, 2023* 7:30 p.m., ESPN+		Fisk	W 76–61	1–0	Gentry Complex (4,569) Nashville, TN
November 9, 2023* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		Kentucky State	W 83–58	2–0	Gentry Complex (1,453) Nashville, TN
November 15, 2023* 8:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Portland	W 75–65	3–0	Chiles Center (923) Portland, OR
November 17, 2023* 8:00 p.m., P12N		at Oregon Emerald Coast Classic campus-site game	L 67–92	3–1	Matthew Knight Arena (5,279) Eugene, OR
November 20, 2023* 7:00 am, ESPN+		Midway	W 87–70	4–1	Gentry Complex (917) Nashville, TN
November 24, 2023* 11:00 am, FloHoops		vs. Mercer Emerald Coast Classic semifinals	L 59–60	4–2	Raider Arena (100) Niceville, FL
November 25, 2023* 10:00 am, FloHoops		vs. Southeastern Louisiana Emerald Coast Classic third-place game	W 91–77	5–2	Raider Arena (150) Niceville, FL
November 29, 2023* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Alabama A&M	L 83–85 ^OT	5–3	Alabama A&M Events Center (3,647) Huntsville, AL
December 2, 2023* 6:00 p.m., ESPN+		Austin Peay	W 69–65	6–3	Gentry Complex (4,564) Nashville, TN
December 10, 2023* 4:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Lipscomb	L 71–78	6–4	Allen Arena (1,961) Nashville, TN
December 13, 2023* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Liberty	L 52–74	6–5	Liberty Arena (2,311) Lynchburg, VA
December 16, 2023* 2:00 p.m., ESPN+		Boyce	W 117–59	7–5	Gentry Complex (239) Nashville, TN
December 19, 2023* 6:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Indiana State	L 69–90	7–6	Hulman Center (4,291) Terre Haute, IN
OVC regular season
December 28, 2023 7:30 p.m., ESPN+		UT Martin	L 75–91	7–7 (0–1)	Gentry Complex (564) Nashville, TN
December 30, 2023 3:30 p.m., ESPN+		Little Rock	W 90–82	8–7 (1–1)	Gentry Complex (493) Nashville, TN
January 4, 2024 7:30 p.m., ESPN+		at Southern Indiana	L 67–69	8–8 (1–2)	Screaming Eagles Arena (1,258) Evansville, IN
January 6, 2024 2:30 p.m., ESPN+		at Morehead State	L 68–78	8–9 (1–3)	Ellis Johnson Arena (1,581) Morehead, KY
January 13, 2024 3:30 p.m., ESPN+		Lindenwood	W 75–60	9–9 (2–3)	Gentry Complex (379) Nashville, TN
January 18, 2024 7:30 p.m., ESPN+		Tennessee Tech	W 85–53	10–9 (3–3)	Gentry Complex (2,571) Nashville, TN
January 20, 2024 3:30 p.m., ESPN+		at Western Illinois	W 58–57	11–9 (4–3)	Western Hall (1,046) Macomb, IL
January 27, 2024 3:30 p.m., ESPN+		at Eastern Illinois	W 64–60	12–9 (5–3)	Groniger Arena (1,533) Charleston, IL
February 1, 2024 7:30 p.m., ESPN+		Morehead State	L 49–68	12–10 (5–4)	Gentry Complex (1,178) Nashville, TN
February 3, 2024 3:30 p.m., ESPN+		Southern Indiana	W 79–74	13–10 (6–4)	Gentry Complex (784) Nashville, TN
February 8, 2024 7:30 p.m., ESPN+		at Lindenwood	W 65–55	14–10 (7–4)	Hyland Performance Arena (2,002) St. Charles, MO
February 10, 2024 3:45 p.m., ESPN+		at Southeast Missouri State	W 77–74	15–10 (8–4)	Show Me Center (1,134) Cape Girardeau, MO
February 13, 2024 7:30 p.m., ESPN+		at Tennessee Tech	L 50–70	15–11 (8–5)	Eblen Center (1,141) Cookeville, TN
February 17, 2024 3:30 p.m., ESPN+		Western Illinois	L 61–68	15–12 (8–6)	Gentry Complex (1,479) Nashville, TN
February 22, 2024 7:30 p.m., ESPN+		Eastern Illinois	W 78–73	16–12 (9–6)	Gentry Complex (1,072) Nashville, TN
February 24, 2024 3:30 p.m., ESPN+		SIU Edwardsville	W 76–71	17–12 (10–6)	Gentry Complex (1,037) Nashville, TN
February 29, 2024 7:00 p.m., ESPN+		at Little Rock	L 60–85	17–13 (10–7)	Jack Stephens Center (3,367) Little Rock, AR
March 2, 2024 3:30 p.m., ESPN+		at UT Martin	L 87–96	17–14 (10–8)	Skyhawk Arena (2,453) Martin, TN
OVC tournament
March 6, 2024 6:30 p.m., ESPN+	(5)	vs. (8) Southern Indiana First round	W 78–64	18–14	Ford Center Evansville, IN
March 7, 2024 6:30 p.m., ESPN+	(5)	vs. (4) Western Illinois Quarterfinals	L 59–61	18–15	Ford Center Evansville, IN
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central.

Sources:^[6]^[7]

References

^ "2023-24 Men's Basketball Standings". Ohio Valley Conference. Retrieved November 28, 2024.
^ "Men's Basketball Takes Down Southern Indiana 78-64 in First Round of OVC Tournament". Tennessee State University. March 6, 2024. Retrieved May 29, 2025.
^ "Men's Basketball's Season Ends in 61-59 Loss to Western Illinois on Buzzer-Beater". Tennessee State University. March 7, 2024. Retrieved May 29, 2025.
^ "2022-23 Men's Basketball Standings". Ohio Valley Conference. Retrieved November 28, 2023.
^ "Men's Basketball Falls 91-83 to Southeast Missouri State in OVC Quarterfinals". Tennessee State University. March 2, 2023. Retrieved November 28, 2023.
^ "2023-24 Men's Basketball Schedule". Tennessee State University. Retrieved November 28, 2023.
^ "Tennessee State Tigers Schedule 2023-24". ESPN. Retrieved November 28, 2023.

[1] "2023-24 Men's Basketball Standings". Ohio Valley Conference. Retrieved November 28, 2024.

[2] "Men's Basketball Takes Down Southern Indiana 78-64 in First Round of OVC Tournament". Tennessee State University. March 6, 2024. Retrieved May 29, 2025.

[3] "Men's Basketball's Season Ends in 61-59 Loss to Western Illinois on Buzzer-Beater". Tennessee State University. March 7, 2024. Retrieved May 29, 2025.

[4] "2022-23 Men's Basketball Standings". Ohio Valley Conference. Retrieved November 28, 2023.

[5] "Men's Basketball Falls 91-83 to Southeast Missouri State in OVC Quarterfinals". Tennessee State University. March 2, 2023. Retrieved November 28, 2023.

[6] "2023-24 Men's Basketball Schedule". Tennessee State University. Retrieved November 28, 2023.

[7] "Tennessee State Tigers Schedule 2023-24". ESPN. Retrieved November 28, 2023.

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v t e Tennessee State Tigers basketball
Venues	Kean Hall (1953–1980) Gentry Complex (1980–present)
People	Head coaches Statistical leaders
Seasons	List of seasons 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25
NAIA national championships in bold