Tsioropoulos played college basketball at the University of Kentucky under legendary coach Adolph Rupp.

[1] In the fall of 1952, a point shaving scandal involving three Kentucky players (a fourth player, Bill Spivey, a teammate of Tsioropoulos on the 1951 National Championship team, was alleged to have been involved in the scandal but denied the charge) over a four-year period forced Kentucky to forfeit its upcoming season, which would have been the senior year for Tsiroropoulos and future Hall-of-Famers Frank Ramsey and Cliff Hagan.

After finishing the regular season (one in which Tsioropoulos averaged 14.5 points per game) with a perfect 25–0 record and a #1 ranking in the Associated Press, Kentucky had been offered a bid into the NCAA Tournament.

The Wildcats declined the bid because their participation would have forced them to play without Tsioropoulos, Ramsey and Hagan, thus jeopardizing their perfect season.

[1] As Tom Heinsohn's backup at small forward, Tsioropoulos played three seasons with the Celtics, winning NBA championships in 1957 and 1959.