A&M-Corpus Christi Readies for SEMO in First Four of NCAA Tournament

DAYTON, Ohio – A year later, the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi men's basketball program finds itself in the same position as it preps for Southeast Missouri State in the First Four of the NCAA Tournament at 5:40 p.m. (CT) on Tuesday. The game will be nationally televised on truTV.
 
The Islanders (23-10, 14-4 SLC), who are making their second consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance and third in school history, were in the First Four last year against Texas Southern. In that game, A&M-Corpus Christi led 61-59 with 6:04 remaining when the Tigers came back for a 76-67 decision. Senior Trevian Tennyson paced the Islanders with 19 points, while senior Simeon Fryer neared a double-double with 12 points and nine rebounds.
 
A&M-Corpus Christi has won 12 of the last 13 games. The Islanders won three conference championships in two seasons after back-to-back SLC Tournament titles and the 2022-23 regular season crown outright.
 
The Islanders rank top-five nationally in free throw percentage (.790) as well as 13th in free throws made per game (16.7), 17th in scoring (80.4 ppg) and 23rd in steals (8.8 spg). Individually, senior Terrion Murdix is 15th in the country in steals (2.3 spg) and 24th in assists (5.4 apg), senior Isaac Mushila is 19th in rebounds (9.7 rpg) and Tennyson is 24th in 3FG% (.412).
 
The Islanders landed three All-Conference selections for the first time in program history. Murdix and Mushila were tabbed to the First-Team and Tennyson to the Second-Team. Murdix became just the second SLC Defensive Player of the Year in program history along with Rashawn Thomas in 2015-16. Murdix was also on the All-Defensive Team in the second year in a row.
 
A&M-Corpus Christi garnered a pair of SLC All-Tournament honorees including senior Jalen Jackson (Tournament MVP) and Tennyson. Both averaged 15.0 points per game. A&M-Corpus Christi earned a double bye to the semifinals of the SLC Tournament and beat No. 8 McNeese and No. 2 Northwestern State to earn the league's automatic bid. Head coach Steve Lutz is 5-0 in SLC Tournament games in two seasons.
 
Tennyson has already broken the school record for threes made in a season with 96. He surpassed Josh Washington's mark of 90 in 2006-07. Tennyson is now eyeing the career record in just his second season as his 170 makes are just 10 behind Brandon Pye's 180 from 2012-16.
 
Tennyson scored in double-figures in all 18 SLC games. He leads the team in scoring with 15.7 points per game on the year and 18.6 in conference.
 
With 12 double-doubles, Mushila is one away from tying the program's single-season record of 13 set by himself last year and Rashawn Thomas in 2016-17. The school record for career double-doubles is 35 by Thomas in four seasons, while Mushila has tallied 25 in his second season.
 
Mushila nearly averages a double-double with 14.4 points and 9.7 rebounds per outing. He led the league in rebounding.
 
The Redhawks (19-16, 10-8 OVC) won four games in four days in the OVC Tournament to earn the league's automatic bid as the No. 5 seed, including an 89-82 overtime victory over second-seeded Tennessee Tech in the finals. SEMO will make its second-ever NCAA Tournament appearance and first since 1999-00.
 
SEMO is led by Phillip Russell who was an All-OVC First-Team and All-Tournament Team selection. He's scored over 1,000 career points and averages 18.2 points per game on the season. Chris Harris is also a contributor with 15.4 points per outing and was named to the All-Conference Second-Team.
 
The winner of the A&M-Corpus Christi and SEMO match-up will advance to play No. 1 Alabama at 1:45 p.m. Thursday in Birmingham, Alabama on CBS.
 
NOTES
- Lutz hoists a 46-22 overall record in two seasons and was named both the 2023 SLC Coach of the Year. Lutz was also tabbed a finalist for the Skip Prosser Man of the Year award, presented to those who not only achieve success on the court but who display moral integrity off of it as well.
 
- Lutz, who does not have a losing record against any SLC opponent in two seasons, became the second SLC Coach of the Year in program history and first since Ronnie Arrow in 2006-07. He's the only coach in program history to reach 20 wins in his first season, let alone first two. A&M-Corpus Christi last recorded consecutive 20-win seasons in 2015-17. It was the seventh 20-win season in program history. 
 
- The Islanders are 31-24 all-time in neutral court games. Tuesday will be the first-ever meeting between A&M-Corpus Christi and SEMO.
 
- A&M-Corpus Christi outrebounded 16 of 18 conference opponents.
 
- The Islanders only gave up a scoring run of 10 or more consecutive points one time in conference and just twice on the entire season.
 
- In two seasons under Lutz, the Islanders are 17-0 when they shoot over 50 percent from the field and 27-2 when the opposition scores below 70 points.
 
- Three times the Islanders beat a NWST team that has a win over a top-25 opponent in TCU. It included a 75-71 victory in the SLC Championship after Murdix went down with an injury in under three minutes of action.
 
- A&M-Corpus Christi won its semifinal match 80-63 over McNeese. The Islanders have won 16 consecutive meetings dating back to 2013.
 
- A&M-Corpus Christi went on an eight-game winning-streak in conference. It was the eighth longest active streak in the nation.
 
- The Islanders finished 13-2 at home this year. A&M-Corpus Christi is 224-108 all-time at home and 149-79 at the American Bank Center. A&M-Corpus Christi is also on a five-game road winning-streak.
 
- The Islanders shot .401 from long range in conference as a team. Most notably, Tennyson was 67-of-138 (.486).
 
- A&M-Corpus Christi is 159-128 all-time in SLC games since joining the league in 2006-07.
 
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AT&T UVerse, 164/1164
Verizon FIOS, 183/683
DISH Network, 242
DirecTV, 246
Grande Communications, 47
Spectrum (Corpus Christi), 50

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