Jackson State Prepares for Texas Swing, Faces Prairie View A&M on Thursday
Jackson State University men’s basketball heads to Texas for a pair of conference games, beginning with Prairie View A&M on Thursday night. The game is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. at the William J. Nicks Building and will be streamed on SWAC TV, according to university sources.
The Tigers, with a 9-18 record overall and an 8-6 mark in the Southwestern Athletic Conference, have won two of their last three games. They recently fell to Alcorn State on Saturday. Jackson State and Prairie View A&M last met in January in Jackson, Mississippi, with the Tigers winning the matchup.
Jackson State is led by junior guard Daeshun Ruffin, who averages 23.5 points and 5.6 assists per game. In conference play, Ruffin’s averages rise to 28.9 points and 7.4 assists. The senior guard recorded three straight double-doubles earlier this season. Other key contributors include Jayme Mitchell Jr., with 14.2 points and five rebounds per game, and Dorian McMillian, averaging 11.9 points and 4.4 rebounds.
In recent games, Jalen Tatum made his first appearance since transferring from Louisville, scoring 15 off the bench in a win over Florida A&M. Mitchell Jr. also had a career-high 39 points and 13 rebounds against Mississippi Valley State, marking his first double-double. The team has also received support from relatives of head coach Mo Williams, with his son KyDarrius serving as an assistant coach and another son, Mike, being a top recruit from Germantown High School.
Jackson State has faced five nationally ranked opponents this season, including Illinois, Louisville, Auburn, Arkansas, and Houston. They played Houston on the road, marking their fifth game against a top-25 team. The Tigers are competing in one of the toughest schedules in the country, according to multiple sources.
The teams previously met on Jan. 3, with Jackson State pulling out an 89-85 victory thanks to Ruffin’s 31 points. Ruffin, McMillian, and Mitchell combined for 69 of Jackson State’s 91 points in a January matchup against Bethune-Cookman. Their latest meeting occurred on Jan. 17 in Jackson, where Ruffin scored his 1,000th career point and posted 23 points and 10 assists in an 82-78 win.
Jackson State gained recognition Monday by hosting SportsCenter on Campus, becoming the first HBCU to do so. The team also appeared on College Gameday that evening. Follow Jackson State athletics on social media at @GoJSUTigers on Instagram and Twitter, or visit GoJSUTigers.com for more coverage.
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