Texas Southern overcomes colossal losing streak to seal NCAA tourney bid

The typical resume of an NCAA tournament team does not normally include a 13-game losing streak, much less one to start the season, but no one told Texas Southern that.

The Tigers, who dropped their first 13 contests before finally pulling themselves into the win column, could have rolled over and died a pitiful death, but head coach Mike Davis did not throw in the towel. He, after all, guided Texas Southern to three tournament appearances in his five previous seasons at the helm, and the Tigers managed to rally back to win the SWAC championship with a 12-6 conference record.

Best Win: Conference championship wins always stick out as being a crowning jewel in a team's season, and while the Tigers' victory over Arkansas Pine-Bluff was just that, the most meaningful win for the program likely came months earlier. It was a case of "new year, new Texas Southern" on Jan. 1, as the Tigers ended their brutal losing streak with a 78-66 win over Southern to finally turn the tide on their season.

Season Summary: As easy as it may be to ridicule Texas Southern's sketchy start, it actually played a litany of strong teams including Gonzaga, Ohio State, Syracuse, Kansas, and Clemson. Once the Tigers got the ship on course, they managed to play well enough in conference play to earn a No. 3 seed in the conference tournament. Sophomore guard Demontrae Jefferson led the way with 23.4 points and 4.5 assists, while senior guard Donte Clark supported that with 18.6 points and 5.3 rebounds of his own after making the jump from UMass as a grad transfer.