• Texas Southern closes out the first half of SWAC play against SWAC rival Prairie View A&M Saturday afternoon in Prairie View, Texas at 4:30 p.m.
• Picked ninth in the SWAC Preseason Poll, Prairie View A&M had a hot start in SWAC play with a 3-1 mark but has dropped four straight since. Despite the slide, PVAMU still leads the SWAC in scoring offense (80.5 ppg) and ranks fifth in defense (79.8 ppg) and fourth in opponent field goal percentage (45%). They also lead the SWAC in turnover margin (4.14)and are second in blocked shots (3.9) and steals (9.0). The backcourt of Tai'Reon Joseph (20.5) and Dontae Horne (16.4) rank second and eighth, respectively in the SWAC in scoring while Cory Wells (13.8) ranks 13th and fifth in rebounding.
• TSU head coach Johnny Jones is 9-7 lifetime against Prairie View A&M and PVAMU's Byron Smith, a former assistant at TSU in 2009-10.
• Since 2012, TSU is 21-12 against PVAMU and has won seven of the past nine games, including four straight, against the Panthers. PVAMU has had its most success against TSU in Prairie View as PVAMU is 10-17 in the William Nicks Building since 1997 while losing 15 of the past 24 games. However, TSU has won the past three-of-four games there. Last year's win at PVAMU marked the first time since 2007 and 2008 TSU has had back-to-back wins at PVAMU. TSU hasn't won more than three straight at PVAMU since winning seven straight from 1988-1996.
• PVAMU head coach Byron Smith and current PVAMU assistant Keith Berard both served as assistant coaches at TSU. Smith spent the 2009-10 season at TSU while Berard spent five years (2002-07) at TSU.
• Texas Southern fell in the first round of the 2025 SWAC Tournament to Alabama State.
• TSU returns two starters from last season and 10 letterwinners as they lost five lettermen. The Tigers added seven newcomers to its roster in the offseason as five were added via the transfer portal. Senior guard Zaire Hayes was named to the 2025-26 Preseason All-SWAC basketball team after a career junior campaign which saw him finish second on the team with 10.3 points per game while finishing second on the team with 47 three-pointers made. He also shot 46 percent from the field and 84 percent from the free throw line.
• Senior Troy Hupstead made his TSU debut on Nov. 6 and has averaged 15.0 points and 9.4 rebounds per game. TSU graduate guard Bryce Roberts surpassed 1,000 career points a few weeks ago which spans from his two years in junior college and three seasons on the NCAA Divison I and II levels.
• TSU, which is led by eighth-year head coach Johnny Jones, enters the 2025-26 season looking to earn its eighth NCAA Tournament bid over the past 13 years. TSU finished fourth in the SWAC last season and picked to finish fifth this year.
• TSU made its fifth consecutive postseason under Jones in 2024 and participated in three straight NCAA Tournaments from 2021-23. Head coach Johnny Jones went 24-14 in his inaugural year as head coach with three Power 5 conference wins. TSU fell in the finals of the 2019 SWAC Tournament and advanced to the semifinals of the CIT in 2019. In 2019-20, the Tigers made it back to the semifinals of the SWAC Tournament after a third-place regular season finish but saw the season end abruptly due to COVID-19. TSU won the SWAC Tournament and First Four contest in 2021 and was the first SWAC team to beat a ranked opponent from the SEC in 2021 at Florida. TSU claimed another Power 5 non-conference win against Arizona State in 2022.
• Jones is 104-90 all-time in the month of January and 35-22 at TSU.
