Get To Know A Marquette Basketball Opponent: Grambling State

Name: Grambling State University

Where: Grambling, Louisiana

Founded: 1901

Where Did The Name Come From? It's not just for the city, technically speaking.  Originally, the school was named Colored Industrial And Agricultural School.  In 1905, it moved to its current location, which was a section of land donated by sawmill owner P.G. Grambling.  The school didn't take on his name until 1946 when it became Grambling College.  The addition of graduate programs in education in 1974 caused the transition to Grambling State University.

Jackson State Had A Badass Marching Band.  What About Grambling? You betcha.  The GSU Tiger Marching Band has a long history and a long list of impressive highlights, including multiple presidential inaugural parades.  Here they are performing at halftime of the 2014 Bayou Classic.

Enrollment: 4,553 (3,583 undergrad, 970 grad)

Nickname: Tigers

Why "Tigers?" I can't find anything in particular to explain it.  It's possible that it derives from the same Confederate army history as LSU's nickname, but that's just a theory.

Notable Alumni: Grammy Award winning artist Erykah Badu; current New York Times columnist Charles M. Blow; rapper E-40 attended but did not graduate, professional wrestler and professional football player "Big Cat" Ernie Ladd; Pro Football Hall of Famers Willie Brown, Buck Buchanan, and Charlie Joiner; Super Bowl XXII MVP Doug Williams; and Basketball Hall of Famer Willis Reed.

Speaking Of Willis Reed, Let's Talk About Basketball: I don't want to.

I Thought That's Why We're Here: FINE.  Fine.  Because you asked.

Best Ranking In The KenPom Era: #295, in 2002-2003.  That's their best finish in the 14 completed seasons in the KenPom database.

So, What You're Saying Is: Yes, Grambling State might be the worst team in the history of KenPom, including finishing dead last in three of the last four seasons, with a second to last finish in the fourth.  They've been sub-340 in six of the last seven seasons.

Last Season: 0-27 against Division 1 opponents.  They beat Lyon and Selma for their only two wins of the season.

Season Before That? 4-23 against Division 1 opponents.

What About This Year? 0-5 against Division 1 opponents.

So That Means: Grambling has not won a Division 1 game since March 11, 2014, when they beat Jackson State in the SWAC conference tournament.

KenPom Projection: 7-24, including a 3-15 record in the SWAC.

Current Stats Leaders:

Points: Nigel Ribeiro, 13.0 ppg
Rebounds: Ervin Mitchell, 5.2 rpg
Assists: Remond Brown, 3.3 apg

Head Coach: Shawn Walker, in his second season.  He played college basketball at Elizabeth City State University and was the head coach there for 12 seasons before getting the Grambling job.

All Time Series: Marquette leads, 4-0, with all four games coming in this millenium.  The most recent outing was in 2013, when #17 Marquette won, 114-71.  That is a Bradley Center record for Marquette, second only to the 118 points that MU hung on UW-Milwaukee back in January of 1969.  Marquette's smallest margin of victory against Grambling is 16 points, coming in December 2003 in a 71-55 win.