Game Notes

MOBILE, Ala. – With the 2012-13 regular season behind them, the University of South Alabama men’s basketball team turns its attention to Hot Springs, Ark. and the Sun Belt Conference Tournament starting Saturday.

The No. 3 seed Jaguars will face either No. 6 Western Kentucky (16-15, 10-10) or No. 11 Louisiana at Monroe (4-22, 3-17) on Convention Center Court at 8:30 p.m.

Fans can watch USA’s quarterfinal matchup for free at SunBeltSports.org. The semifinals will be televised on the Sun Belt Network (CSS/Cox) and the championship game can be seen on ESPN.

The Sun Belt homepage will also provide updates through live stats. Lee Shirvanian will call the action on 105.5 FM and WNSP.com, while the official Twitter feed of South Alabama men’s basketball (@SouthAlaMBK) will send out updates during the game as well.

“That’s your goal, all year, to find a way to get to the big dance,” USA head coach Jeff Price said. “It starts as a new season now and I think we’ve performed well throughout the year but now is our chance to get some postseason accolades. We want to go in and play well and find a way to win the whole thing.”

South Alabama (17-11, 14-6) is looking to advance past the quarterfinals for the first time since 2009, when the Jaguars made it to the championship game before falling 64-56 to WKU.

The Jags have no postseason history with ULM while they have met the HIlltoppers seven times in the Sun Belt Tournament, with three wins in those seven meetings. In fact, Saturday would be the first time since 2000 that a USA-WKU matchup did not come in the championship game.

Earning the program’s first bye in five years puts South Alabama in the position of waiting until the night before to find out who it will play on Saturday, leaving the Jaguars without an opponent to prepare for in the days leading up to the tournament.

“We spent more time this week concerned with South Alabama, which is really what we’ve done all year” Price said. “We don’t know who we’ll play, but the advantage is we’ve played them both twice, particularly Western within the last week. There won’t be any secrets in that game. I think either game will be a great matchup for us, and I think our team has been playing well going in.”

On Wednesday junior Augustine Rubit (Houston, Texas) was named the Sun Belt’s Player of the Year. He became the first Jaguar to earn the award since 1989—a conference tournament championship year—after averaging 18.9 points and leading the league with 10.8 rebounds per contest.

“I’m just really proud of him,” Price commented. “He couldn’t be a more deserving guy. He’s a great person and an unbelievably hard worker. What’s probably more impressive if you see us play is he’s been able to do that with two or three people guarding him every game, which is pretty special.”

Western Kentucky has three players that average double-figures, led by T.J. Price with 14.9 per contest. He averaged 17.5 points in two games against South Alabama this season, including 22 in the victory in Bowling Green.

Amos Olayato leads the Warhawks with 16.1 points per game, but was held well below that average in two games vs. the Jaguars with 13.5 per contest.

For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/USAJaguarSports. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).

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