Starting Lineup

• PG Lawrence Myers (5-10, 165, So.): Nicknamed Scooter, Myers stepped in after Large's injury and performed better than most expected. He's by no means a flashy guard and doesn't score much at all, but his assist-to-turnover ratio ranked among the top in the league.
• SG Roy Dixon (6-3, 190, Sr.): JSU's top outside scoring threat, he is a streaky shooter and can go 0-for-12 one night and 10-for-12 the next. He bailed JSU out on more than one occasion with his perimeter shooting.
• C Vincent Jones (6-11, 205, Sr.): One of the most exciting players in the league, Jones runs the floor well and can jump out of the gym. Gets pushed around at times because of his skinny frame. Has a tendency to get in foul trouble. Jones has a nice jump hook with either hand from as far out as 12-14 feet. Gets a lot of baskets on alley-oop dunks.
• SF Cliff Walker (6-6, 225, Fr.): Walker started the last eight games of the season but he averages only 10 minutes. Has a decent outside touch but most of his points, when he scores (2.1 ppg), come around the basket.
• PF Darren Robinson (7-0, 220, Sr.): Robinson has nice touch for a big man and is capable of blocking shots. Sometimes the game gets too fast for Robinson, who tends to play soft.

Keys to Success

When Jackson State is playing at its best, it is tough on the defensive end and crashes the boards. The Tigers are a poor outside shooting team (25 percent from 3-point range) and have to rely on their defense and inside play.

Also, the 6-foot-11 Jones has to keep his emotions in check and stay out of foul trouble as he did in the SWAC Tournament. When things are going good, Jones can be one of the most exciting players in the conference with high flying slams and blocks. But when things go bad, Jones is a technical waiting to happen and his game slips.

The Coach

Stoglin is finishing his 11th season at JSU and 13th overall. He is 171- 155 at JSU and 204-178 overall as a head coach. He coached at Southern two years before arriving at JSU. Stoglin has led JSU to four SWAC Tournament championships, one NCAA play-in game, one NIT berth and two NCAA Tournament berths.

A 1965 graduate of Texas El-Paso, Stoglin won his 200th career game earlier this season. The Tigers' best season under Stoglin came in 1992-93 (25-9).

The Bench

The Tigers are one of the deepest teams in the SWAC. On any given night, Stoglin will go with a different starting lineup. Timmy Marks, a guard, is JSU's second-leading scorer. Marks isn't a very good outside shooter, but he gets points in a lot of different ways. Richard Bradley, a forward, is undersized but plays hard and goes to the boards with aggression. Marino Walker, a guard, is turnover-prone but has played big in a couple of games this season. Capable of scoring in bunches, particularly at the free throw line. A forward, Deon Burns is one of the best rebounders on the team.

Offense

JSU ranked eighth in the league in scoring (67.7 ppg) during the regular season. The Tigers run a variation of offensive sets with motion mixed in.

Defense

JSU led the league in scoring defense (69.3 ppg.) and field goal percentage defense (40.9 percent). The Tigers are one of the biggest teams in the league with Jones (the Defensive Player of the Year) and Robinson. They are also thick with the likes of Bradley and Burns.