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Tennessee State basketball coach Nolan Smith knows a thing or two about March Madness, having helped lead Duke to the 2009-10 national championship as a player. Now he's got Tigers fans talking about the NCAA tournament in his first season as the TSU coach.
The Tigers (17-9, 10-5 in OVC) have only been to the NCAA tournament twice, and it's been 32 years since their last visit.
But Smith, who has won at every level as a player and a coach, has TSU in the thick of the Ohio Valley Conference race heading down the stretch of the regular season.
"Pretty much my whole life, I have always won," Smith said. "I don't take winning for granted. I just spent two years at Louisville (2022-23 and 2023-2024 seasons as an assistant) where I had to learn how to be a part of losing. It was part of my journey that just made me be more obsessed with winning."
Smith left Louisville to join Penny Hardaway's staff at Memphis, and the Tigers went on to win the 2024-25 American Athletic Conference tournament and earn an automatic NCAA Tournament bid.
With Smith, TSU found itself in an unfamiliar place after beating host Southern Indiana (73-71) on Feb. 12. The win pushed TSU into a first-place tie in the OVC standings with UT-Martin.
It marked the first time the Tigers were in first place in the conference at this point in the season since winning the regular season title in 1992-93. Smith was 4 years old at the time.
The success under Smith comes a year after the Tigers advanced to the semifinals of the OVC tournament before losing to Southern Illinois Edwardsville, 71-69.
"Collectively, the guys that were here last year put in so much work in the offseason, even before Nolan came," said Travis Harper II, TSU's leading scorer. "Then with the guys he brought in, we all found a way to put together all of the pieces and get to the place where we are. We're not surprised that we're here. We're built for this. We're supposed to be here."
TSU fell out of first place and is in a three-way tie for second after losing at Morehead State (94-86) on Feb. 14. The next game is Feb. 19 against Lindwood (16-11, 10-6) at Gentry Center (7:30 p.m. CT).
TSU first-year coaches have not enjoyed the type of success Nolan Smith has had.
At 17-9, Smith already has the second most wins for a Tigers coach in his first year since Travis Williams, who went 18-15 in 2012-13. Smith has four regular-season games plus the postseason to pass Williams.
The last TSU coach before that to win 18 games in his first season was Harold Hunter, who was 28-5 in 1959-60.
Smith welcomed back five players from 2024-25, who were joined by two incoming freshmen. He brought in nine transfers.
With four of those returners being starters − Harper, Carlous Williams, Jabrion Spikes, and Aaron Nkrumah − Smith was careful not to change too much on offense. TSU led the OVC in scoring in 2024-25 with a 78.1-point average.
Smith focused on beefing up the defense, and that paid off.
"He brought great energy," Harper said. "Obviously, we're a team that likes to get out in transition, so in order be a transition team, you've got to play defense. You've got to cause turnovers. You've got to cause havoc."
TSU is ranked 12th nationally in steals per game (9.3). Nkrumah is third in the nation with 73 steals.
"It's all about our pressure," Smith said. "I believe in pressing, I believe in getting after it on the defense end, I believe in playing fast. What we've done differently this year is take care of the ball. We've been one of the top teams in the country in steals, but we've also cut down on our turnovers. When you're able to turn teams over and take care of it, that's going to lead to wins."
TSU has won three of its last four games and five of its last seven. The Tigers held three of those opponents to below 70 points while scoring at least 83 points in three of the wins.
That is the formula for success Smith had in mind when the season tipped off. TSU averages 80.8 points per game, while its opponents average 76.1.
"You can play good defense every night, and we've gotten better at it as the year has gone along," Smith said. "We want an up-tempo game, and a lot of teams in this league want to play at their pace. I speed teams up and have more of an 80-plus per game scoring night."
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Nolan Smith's impact felt immediately as TSU basketball eyes March Madness
Continue reading...
The Tigers (17-9, 10-5 in OVC) have only been to the NCAA tournament twice, and it's been 32 years since their last visit.
But Smith, who has won at every level as a player and a coach, has TSU in the thick of the Ohio Valley Conference race heading down the stretch of the regular season.
"Pretty much my whole life, I have always won," Smith said. "I don't take winning for granted. I just spent two years at Louisville (2022-23 and 2023-2024 seasons as an assistant) where I had to learn how to be a part of losing. It was part of my journey that just made me be more obsessed with winning."
Smith left Louisville to join Penny Hardaway's staff at Memphis, and the Tigers went on to win the 2024-25 American Athletic Conference tournament and earn an automatic NCAA Tournament bid.
TSU reached first place in the OVC for first time since 1993
With Smith, TSU found itself in an unfamiliar place after beating host Southern Indiana (73-71) on Feb. 12. The win pushed TSU into a first-place tie in the OVC standings with UT-Martin.
It marked the first time the Tigers were in first place in the conference at this point in the season since winning the regular season title in 1992-93. Smith was 4 years old at the time.
The success under Smith comes a year after the Tigers advanced to the semifinals of the OVC tournament before losing to Southern Illinois Edwardsville, 71-69.
"Collectively, the guys that were here last year put in so much work in the offseason, even before Nolan came," said Travis Harper II, TSU's leading scorer. "Then with the guys he brought in, we all found a way to put together all of the pieces and get to the place where we are. We're not surprised that we're here. We're built for this. We're supposed to be here."
TSU fell out of first place and is in a three-way tie for second after losing at Morehead State (94-86) on Feb. 14. The next game is Feb. 19 against Lindwood (16-11, 10-6) at Gentry Center (7:30 p.m. CT).
Nolan Smith could post best first-year record at TSU since 1960
TSU first-year coaches have not enjoyed the type of success Nolan Smith has had.
At 17-9, Smith already has the second most wins for a Tigers coach in his first year since Travis Williams, who went 18-15 in 2012-13. Smith has four regular-season games plus the postseason to pass Williams.
The last TSU coach before that to win 18 games in his first season was Harold Hunter, who was 28-5 in 1959-60.
How Nolan Smith turned TSU into a winning program
Smith welcomed back five players from 2024-25, who were joined by two incoming freshmen. He brought in nine transfers.
With four of those returners being starters − Harper, Carlous Williams, Jabrion Spikes, and Aaron Nkrumah − Smith was careful not to change too much on offense. TSU led the OVC in scoring in 2024-25 with a 78.1-point average.
Smith focused on beefing up the defense, and that paid off.
"He brought great energy," Harper said. "Obviously, we're a team that likes to get out in transition, so in order be a transition team, you've got to play defense. You've got to cause turnovers. You've got to cause havoc."
TSU is ranked 12th nationally in steals per game (9.3). Nkrumah is third in the nation with 73 steals.
"It's all about our pressure," Smith said. "I believe in pressing, I believe in getting after it on the defense end, I believe in playing fast. What we've done differently this year is take care of the ball. We've been one of the top teams in the country in steals, but we've also cut down on our turnovers. When you're able to turn teams over and take care of it, that's going to lead to wins."
Nolan Smith likes high-scoring along with smothering defense
TSU has won three of its last four games and five of its last seven. The Tigers held three of those opponents to below 70 points while scoring at least 83 points in three of the wins.
That is the formula for success Smith had in mind when the season tipped off. TSU averages 80.8 points per game, while its opponents average 76.1.
"You can play good defense every night, and we've gotten better at it as the year has gone along," Smith said. "We want an up-tempo game, and a lot of teams in this league want to play at their pace. I speed teams up and have more of an 80-plus per game scoring night."
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Nolan Smith's impact felt immediately as TSU basketball eyes March Madness
Continue reading...
