TSU unable to pull off any early upsets, but signs of promise gleaned from losses
As the Texas Southern Tigers try to get back to the NCAA Tournament for the third consecutive season, coach Mike Davis will talk with the Chronicle each week about the ups and downs, the struggles and highlights during the journey of the 2015-16 season.
Texas Southern coach Mike Davis saw a familiar sight in college basketball’s opening week: A few midmajors recorded victories over power conference teams.
The Tigers know what that is like. Last season, TSU beat Michigan State and Kansas State and was competitive against traditional powers Indiana, Florida and Gonzaga.
“We definitely know it can be done because we’ve been there before,” Davis said. “Even Southern beat Mississippi State last night, Alabama State beat Virginia Tech. We’re excited. We just wish we were there now.
“But it’s all about January, February and March for us.”
TSU wasn’t one of those mid-majors to grab headlines, at least not in the first two games of the year. The Tigers lost to New Mexico 86-57 and to Creighton 93-70.
The good news, Davis said, is his Tigers are far from a finished product. Through the first week of the season, the team has learned what happens now will shape what happens later.
There were some positives early on. TSU opened both the New Mexico and Creighton games well.
TSU led New Mexico 11-6 early in the first half before the Lobos took control. Against Creighton, the Tigers were tied at 11-11 and trailed by three points with 9:19 left in the first half.
“We got a good start in both of them, but we couldn’t sustain it,” Davis said. “It really hurt us. Our conditioning is nowhere near where it needs to be for us to play against those types of teams right now.”
Nonetheless, Davis said it’s good to have game film to work with. And he should like what he saw from two players who were expected to produce this year — seniors Malcolm Riley and Chris Thomas.
Riley had 20 points against New Mexico and 18 against Creighton.
Thomas might have had the best performance of the week against Creighton, scoring 26 points on 10-of14 shooting.
“Chris is an outstanding talent, and I think that was the first game where he played the way he was capable of playing in a long time, not just here,” Davis said. “So hopefully he can keep it going in the right direction and we can add one or two players in the month of November and December and when conference play rolls around, we should be ready.”
TSU is expecting 6-7, 230-pound Derrick Griffin to join the team soon. Griffin is a receiver for the TSU football team.
Besides TSU slowly working itself into a finished product, the opening week was the season’s first taste of what life on the road will be like for the Tigers.
TSU doesn’t have a home game until Jan. 2. The Tigers will spend all of non-conference play on the road.
TSU flew into Greenville, S.C., around 3 p.m. Wednesday for a game against Clemson on Thursday night.
The Tigers then participate in the Men Who Speak Up Main Event starting Monday at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
“The road is good because it teaches you how to play when nobody in the gym is pulling for you,” Davis said. “That’s another obstacle I wanted to put in front of us just to have to on the road type of feeling every time you get up and play.”