South Florida Men’s Basketball vs. Tennessee State

A first-year coach with a Duke pedigree took Tennessee State to the top of the Ohio Valley: Nolan Smith, a national champion and ACC Player of the Year as a Blue Devils guard, led the Tigers to a share of the regular-season title, the conference tournament and their first NCAA Tournament bid in 32 years, finishing 23–10. They meet a South Florida team picked third in the American's preseason coaches' poll, behind Wichita State and Memphis, and largely rebuilt over the summer.