Despite being picked to finish second in the OVC, Tennessee State men's basketball Coach Cy Alexander isn't especially displeased with the Tigers' fifth-place performance or their No. 7 tournament seed. TSU visits Eastern Kentucky to open tournament play at 6:30 tonight.
''I don't know if we underachieved, as much as it's quite a step to be picked second,'' Alexander said regarding his club (14-16, 9-7 OVC), which finished eighth last year with a 6-10 record and 7-21 overall. ''I think we progressed accordingly, finishing in a three-way tie for fifth and beating some teams we hadn't beaten.''
One was a 75-63 win over EKU at the Gentry Center on Feb. 3 in the only meeting between the teams this year. EKU shook off the loss and finished second in regular-season play to earn the home court in the tourney's opening round.
''You'd rather be at home,'' EKU Coach Travis Ford said. ''But it's only a small advantage in this league this year because there's so much parity. You've seen people win big games on the road, seen people lose at home.''
Said: Alexander: ''We didn't reach our goal of getting a home game. But that's water under the bridge. We've got to play as well as we're capable of playing (tonight). I thought we played one of our best games last year when we had to go to Austin Peay (in tourney's first round). I think it's a big advantage, playing at home, but that's not the hand we were dealt.''
''I don't know if we underachieved, as much as it's quite a step to be picked second,'' Alexander said regarding his club (14-16, 9-7 OVC), which finished eighth last year with a 6-10 record and 7-21 overall. ''I think we progressed accordingly, finishing in a three-way tie for fifth and beating some teams we hadn't beaten.''
One was a 75-63 win over EKU at the Gentry Center on Feb. 3 in the only meeting between the teams this year. EKU shook off the loss and finished second in regular-season play to earn the home court in the tourney's opening round.
''You'd rather be at home,'' EKU Coach Travis Ford said. ''But it's only a small advantage in this league this year because there's so much parity. You've seen people win big games on the road, seen people lose at home.''
Said: Alexander: ''We didn't reach our goal of getting a home game. But that's water under the bridge. We've got to play as well as we're capable of playing (tonight). I thought we played one of our best games last year when we had to go to Austin Peay (in tourney's first round). I think it's a big advantage, playing at home, but that's not the hand we were dealt.''
