Men's Basketball Column

Texas Southern wins championships because it plays championship-level teams

Courtesy of Texas Southern University Athletics

Texas Southern hits the road and doesn't come back during a brutal nonconference schedule. And that's all by design.

Texas Southern’s athletic department will make about $950,000 this fall for playing some of the top programs in college basketball, head men’s basketball coach Mike Davis said. But that’s not why the Tigers will log thousands of miles through the air. Texas Southern’s scheduling philosophy puts early-season win-loss record aside in pursuit of one thing: the Big Dance.

“Losing every nonconference game wouldn’t be bad because of the competition we play,” Davis said. “It makes you better. Playing at a sold-out Gonzaga, Arizona, Syracuse, it’s an opportunity to overcome our fear of any crowd we face in our conference. We sacrifice the nonconference to really take advantage come March.”

It’s becoming increasingly apparent that Davis’s plan delivers. The Tigers began regularly playing Power 5 opponents shortly after Davis took over as head coach in 2012. Five years later, they are among the best mid-major programs in the country. In March, Texas Southern won its 10th Southwestern Athletic Conference title and earned its fourth consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance.

The Tigers, which visit Syracuse on Saturday at 7 p.m., face a brutal nonconference schedule every year, a model other mid-major college basketball programs should consider copying to some degree.

“Texas Southern is looking to get some visibility for their program, pick up nice dollars and see what elite programs are all about,” said ESPN college basketball analyst Dick Vitale. “It’s not conducive to winning or getting a great record. But you play good teams and get a nice paycheck.”



TSU opened this season at defending national runner-up Gonzaga. The team has already made trips to Washington State and Ohio State. In the coming weeks, Texas Southern will fly to Syracuse, Kansas and Clemson. Then, a few weeks later, Oregon, Baylor, Wyoming, Texas Christian and Brigham Young. The Tigers won’t play a home game until New Year’s Day.

Playing well above its level has paid dividends. Davis said this week that he believes the early nonconference tests are directly correlated with his team’s success come January, February and March. The program enters this season with a 23-game home winning streak, the third longest in the NCAA. Texas Southern finished 23-12 overall last season, including a 16-2 mark in the SWAC. That year, TSU did not play at home until Jan. 14.

In the 2014-15 season, the Tigers beat Michigan State and Kansas State in a span of eight days. MSU advanced to the Final Four that season.

The idea is that playing up a level or two raises TSU’s game. Schools such as Syracuse welcome such opponents for what’s seen as a relatively easy win and the chance to get the offense and defense in rhythm. For the Tigers, Davis said it has little to do with the scoreboard, though he’ll take upsets if they happen. The size and speed of nonconference opponents can overwhelm the Tigers, Davis said, but that makes them better. Because the Tigers play some of the best teams in the country early in the year, the conference schedule is supposed to feel easier.

“Think about this. How do you get better?” Davis said. “You get better by competing against people better than you. Why not struggle? It’s a good struggle. We have to embrace struggle in life. What better to have to put that in their situation. You’re going to be down by loss in life. It gives you a habit of how to recover. You can’t train your brain unless you actually experience struggle.”

“Why would I want to go beat a DII school or another school by 22 points, always hiding and running from competition? This is about life. You have to run toward challenge. Your effort has to be great.”

Davis insisted that it’s not about the paycheck. He didn’t get the idea for his scheduling blueprint from anybody in particular. He just felt his players would benefit from trips in which they play in front of thousands of people and rack up flight mileage. The Tigers don’t fly via charters, as most Power 5 schools do, but Davis said his team stays in similar hotels and eats similar quality food as Power 5 schools.

“We don’t eat pizza,” Davis said.

Players don’t miss many classes, Davis said, because most road trips are scheduled over Thanksgiving and winter break. Tutors and academic advisers travel with the team, and many players submit their work remotely, Davis said.

Davis explains his ambitious schedule when recruiting, telling recruits that they can play in venues such as the Carrier Dome and Allen Fieldhouse in Kansas. He said some high school players lose interest in TSU because they don’t want to play a brutal schedule. But he knows a soft schedule probably won’t hurt his athletic department’s budget or his resume come March.

Whether playing top-tier teams manifests in more postseason victories is only a matter of time. The Texas Southern model and the success the Tigers have had in the SWAC may appear to be an anomaly, but all signs point to the Tigers moving up. Who knows, maybe they’ll be the next Cinderella Team. Other mid-major programs may want to consider latching on.





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