National television has been very good to the South Carolina State football team under head coach Oliver “Buddy” Pough.

SCSU men’s basketball coach Ben Betts can only hope that winning karma rubs off on the Bulldogs tonight at 9 p.m. when they play host to defending Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference champion Delaware State. The game will be televised on ESPNU (Channel 609 on DirecTV and Channel 148 on The Dish Network) and carried on WSSB (90.3 FM).

The Hornets have won four straight meetings with SCSU, including a 66-60 victory in Dover on Jan. 7. While Delaware State (11-10, 9-0) has continued its winning ways with nine straight victories and is one of 10 national teams still undefeated in their respective conferences, the Bulldogs (6-13, 4-5) return to the Smith-Hammond-Middleton Memorial Center having dropped five of their last seven games.

SCSU did pull off a 56-44 road win over Norfolk State on Monday. It matched the lowest point total allowed this season by the Bulldogs, who also had All-Conference senior Thurman Zimmerman lead the team in scoring for just the second time this season.

Forward Brian Mason leads SCSU in scoring at 16.6 points and is averaging 6.7 rebounds per game. Meanwhile, Delaware State guard Jahsha Blunt is his team’s lone double-figure scorer with 14.5 points per game. In his previous visit to Orangeburg last January, Blunt nailed five 3-pointers to finish with 19 points in a 82-73 come-from-behind win.

The Hornets lead the MEAC in scoring defense, holding opponents to 58.2 points per game, three less than what the Bulldogs are averaging this season. Delaware State is also second in the conference in three-point shooting at 33 percent, but face an SCSU team that ranks third in three-point field goal defense.

While the SCSU men look to climb out of its low position in the standings, the Lady Bulldogs (7-10, 5-4) have a chance to move into a second-place tie with a victory over the Lady Hornets (12-6, 6-3).

Since a 55-48 loss to Delaware State, SCSU has won four of its last six games to surpass its conference-win total from last season. Senior forward Melaney Denson continues her push for unofficial “Conference Comeback Player of the Year” as she’s leading the team in scoring (13.8 points) and rebounding (5.5 boards per game).