Jackson State University’s men’s basketball team will conclude its homestand with a game against Texas Southern on Monday night. The matchup is scheduled for 7 p.m. at the Lee E. Williams Athletic and Assembly Center and will be broadcast on SWACTV.
The Tigers, holding a 4-13 overall record and 3-1 in Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) play, are coming off a week where Daeshun Ruffin was named SWAC Player of the Week after averaging 37.5 points per game over two contests. Jackson State has faced Texas Southern 106 times since 1977, with Texas Southern leading the series 61-45; however, Jackson State won their most recent meeting.
This season, Ruffin leads Jackson State in both scoring and assists, averaging 21.6 points (32.3 in conference games) and 4.9 assists per game (8.3 in conference). Jayme Mitchell Jr. adds an average of 12.8 points and four rebounds per game, while Dorian McMillian contributes 10.9 points and 4.6 rebounds per contest.
Tamarion Hoover has provided support off the bench during conference play, averaging ten points per game.
Ruffin recently recorded his first double-double of the season—and second of his career—against Alabama A&M, finishing with a career-high 39 points and ten assists while shooting nearly 45 percent from the field and over 91 percent from the free throw line. In another performance last week, he scored 36 points along with nine rebounds and five assists, shooting nearly as efficiently from both the floor and free throw line.
For that week’s games combined, Ruffin shot just under 45 percent from the field and over 93 percent from the free throw line while also averaging six rebounds, two steals, and seven-and-a-half assists per game across two road matchups—a stretch that earned him SWAC Player of the Week honors.
Head coach Mo Williams has two sons involved with this year’s squad: KyDarrius serves as an assistant coach while Mike joined as a recruit from Germantown High School.
Hoover has averaged ten points off the bench during conference play; earlier games against Alabama State and Alabama A&M saw him post averages of fifteen-and-a-half points.
In their most recent outing against Prairie View A&M, both Ruffin (23 points/ten assists) and Dionjahe Thomas (13 points/ten rebounds) registered double-doubles for Jackson State.
The Tigers have played five nationally ranked opponents so far this season—more than any other team in their conference—including Houston (seventh), Illinois (17th), Louisville (11th), Auburn (20th), and Arkansas (14th). According to multiple sources, they have faced one of the toughest schedules nationally this year.
Preseason predictions placed Jackson State third in SWAC behind Bethune-Cookman and Southern after finishing second last season with a regular-season record of fourteen wins to four losses before falling in the championship game.
Throughout seventeen games this season, Jackson State has used thirteen different starting lineups but repeated one lineup for three consecutive conference games.
Ruffin currently ranks among national leaders by averaging more than twenty-one points per game overall—and thirty-two-plus within conference play—scoring thirty or more in three out of four league contests so far this year. He has reached double figures in scoring for eight straight games.
“Ruffin recorded his first first double-double of the season, and second of his career on the road on Monday night against Alabama A&M. Ruffin finished the night with a career-high 39 points and 10 assists.”
“He finished the night shooting 44.8 (13-of-29) percent from the floor with a pair of three-pointers, and also shot 91.7 (11-of-12) percent from the free throw line.”
“Prior to that game, Ruffin scored 36 points, nine rebounds and five assists.”
“He also added four steals in the win.”
“The senior guard finished the night shooting 45.0 (9-of-20) percent shooting from the floor and connected on 94.7 (18-of-19) percent from the free throw line.”
“For the week, Ruffin shot 44.9 (22-for-49) percent from the floor with a pair of three-pointers and 93.5 (29-of-31) percent from the free throw line,”
“while averaging 37.5 points per game.”
“He also averaged six rebounds and two steals per game,”
“while dishing out seven-and-a-half assists per game in the road split.”
“He was named SWAC Player of The Week.”
