3 best HBCU teams that didn’t get the attention they deserved

2. 1992-1993 Jackson State Tigers (25-9, 13-1 SWAC)

Early in the 1992-93 season, the Jackson State basketball team did not look like they would amount to much. The Tigers were a paltry 4-6 at the end of December, though they did give the No. 2 Kansas Jayhawks a challenging game before losing 93-85. The Tigers played several close games early in that season.

The Tigers lost by four to Illinois, three to Memphis, and eight to No. 24 Tulane. It was those games that prepared Jackson State for conference play, where the Tigers began to dominate.

Beginning with consecutive wins at the end of December, the Tigers went on an incredible 13-game winning streak, including ten SWAC conference wins in a row. After blowing out Prairie View A&M by 40 points, the Tigers won a close game against Texas Southern. They would not be very good hosts to the Alcorn State Braves a week later, defeating them by 17 points.

A streak that began in late December, lasted until mid-February when they lost to Leonard White and the  Southern Jaguars, 87-74. The Jags had Jackson State’s number that season, defeating JSU in the SWAC tournament.

The Jackson State Tigers, led by future NBA player Lindsey Hunter, would accept an invitation to the NIT, upsetting the UConn Huskies (a team that featured five future NBA players) in two overtimes in the first round.