Jan. 30, 2008

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - The Samford University basketball team will play its second Ohio Valley Conference road game in three days Thursday as the Bulldogs square off against the Tennessee State Tigers at the Howard C. Gentry Complex (10,500) in Nashville, Tenn.

The matchup will be broadcast by Kevin Henslee on WVSU 91.1 FM and via the internet at www.samford.edu/groups/wvsu.

Samford (9-12, 6-7 OVC) will look to rebound from a disappointing 62-34 loss against Murray State on Tuesday. The Bulldogs' 28-point defeat was their worst OVC loss of the 2007-08 campaign and the 34-point scoring output was Samford's lowest since a 77-33 defeat at fifth-ranked Texas on Nov. 16, 2005.

The Bulldogs have compiled a 4-6 record on the road this season and have picked up OVC road victories against Tennessee Tech 62-59, Jacksonville State 57-53 and Eastern Kentucky 64-57. Samford non-conference road win occurred at Evansville 50-49.

The Bulldogs have split their previous four games and find themselves in the midst of a three-way tie for seventh place in the conference standings.

Samford is deadlocked with UT Martin and Tennessee Tech for the seventh position in the OVC race. The top eight teams in the final standings will qualify for the 2008 OVC Tournament. So far this season, Samford was swept by UT Martin and split its annual home-and-home series with Tennessee Tech.

Tennessee State (10-11, 7-5 OVC) is in the middle of a two-game winning streak.

The Tigers have been victorious in four of their previous five OVC contests and are coming off consecutive wins against Tennessee Tech on Saturday 73-72 and Jacksonville State on Tuesday 88-77.

Tennessee State is scoring at a pace of 75.4 points per contest and boasts three players averaging double figures in Bruce Price (18.8 ppg), Gerald Robinson (16.2 ppg) and Jerrell Houston (10.5 ppg).

In the Tigers' recent 88-77 victory against Jacksonville State on Tuesday, Robinson exploded for 18 points on 9-of-15 shooting from the field. Price, Tennessee State's senior guard added 14 points, five rebounds and five assists. He was a perfect 10-for-10 from the charity stripe.

Samford holds a 10-7 advantage in its all-time series against Tennessee State. The Bulldogs have been victorious in four of the previous six meetings between the teams, but dropped a 55-46 decision versus the Tigers earlier this season Jan. 10.

Samford has struggled when playing on the road against Tennessee State and is 2-5 when playing in the Gentry Complex.

So far this season, Samford owns an 8-0 record in games that it is leading with five minutes remaining. Conversely, the Bulldogs are 1-12 in games that they are trailing at the five-minute mark.

Samford is also 1-11 when it gets out-rebounded by the opposition.

Samford's 2007-08 roster consists of players from nine different states. Only true freshman Josh Bedwell (Hartselle) and redshirt freshman Matt Robertson (Birmingham) hail from Alabama , while Curtis West and Trey Montgomery came to Samford from nearby Louisiana.

The rest of Samford's roster is comprised of players from Florida (Gaby Bermudez) to California (Savoy Fraine). Texas is the most represented state with Josh Davis, Bryan Friday and Matthew Friday all calling the "lonestar state" home.

The remaining four states that Bulldog players call home are Illinois (Jim Griffin), Oklahoma (Joe Ross Merritt), Nebraska (Andy King) and Arizona (Travis Peterson).

Upon his arrival at Samford in 2005, forward Bryan Friday needed to choose a number. The Bulldogs' 6-foot-6 forward from Grapevine, Texas, mulled the decision over for a few days and decided that he wanted to wear No. 13. He made the decision because of the word-play on his last name "Friday the 13th".

Following Samford's road game at Tennessee State on Thursday, the Bulldogs will return home to Birmingham for an OVC matchup against Eastern Illinois on Saturday at 7 p.m. The game will be held in the Pete Hanna Center.

Samford Basketball Game Notes