THE COACHES
South Alabama
Ronnie Arrow (Southwest Texas State, 1969)
Record at USA: 172-124 (11th year)
Overall Record: 306-215 (19th year)
Record vs. New Orleans: 9-7
New Orleans
Joe Pasternack (Indiana, 1999)
Record at UNO: 37-47 (3rd year)
Overall Record: Same
LAST GAME
South Alabama fell in overtime at Troy 73-66. New Orleans lost its fourth straight game 76-56 at Western Kentucky.
NEXT GAME
The Jaguars open a three-game homestand Saturday vs. Middle Tennessee. The Privateers host Arkansas State.
ON THE AIR
Radio: 105.5 FM WNSP in Mobile; Lee Shirvanian (pxp)
On the web: www.wnsp.com (audio); Jaguar Nation (video)
RANKINGS (through 2/1)
USA: #229 RPI, #218 Sagarin
UNO: #309 RPI, #307 Sagarin
THE SERIES
USA leads 27-23.
Current winning streak: South Alabama, 9
UNO’s last win in series: 71-51 (1/8/05)
Last meeting: South Alabama 62, New Orleans 60 (3/4/09) - Sun Belt Tournament 1st Round
Last five games: USA leads 5-0
USA’s last win at Lakefront Arena: 97-88 (1/12/08)
UNO’s last win at Lakefront Arena: 71-51 (1/8/05)
USA’s record at Lakefront Arena: 7-13
USA’s road streak: Won 3
USA’s longest winning / losing streak in series: 9 / 5
Notes: South Alabama’s nine-game win streak is the longest active run against a Sun Belt opponent... Prior to the streak, New Orleans won eight out of nine, including two in overtime... USA has eliminated UNO in the Sun Belt Tournament in each of the last two seasons... The Privateers are the Jags’ third-most frequent opponent in history... The series dates back to 1978... The last two meetings have been decided by a total of five points.
OPENING TIP
This will be South Alabama's last trip to New Orleans as a conference game. UNO will be leaving the Sun Belt at the conclusion of the academic year.
Tim Williams set a new career high with 28 points at Troy and tied his personal best with 12 rebounds. He is averaging 21.0 points and 10.0 rebounds in his last two games and has recorded double-digit points in each of his last 11 outings.
Williams is one of two players (Tyren Johnson-ULL) who ranks in the top 10 in the Sun Belt in both scoring (15.5, 6th) and rebounding (7.5, 4th).
Gary Redus tallied 10 points Saturday for his ninth game in double-figure points this season. All of those games have come from off the bench. He missed five games last month with a knee injury.
Javier Carter has a block in five straight contests. He has two rejections in four of those games and leads the team in blocks (18).
Bryan Sherrer ranks seventh in the nation in free throw percentage (91.4%) but has made only two trips to the line in the last two games combined. He has missed more than one free throw in a game just once all season.
South Alabama has outrebounded its opponent by an average of 9.3 per game, but lost all three contests.
UNO’s Billy Humphrey averages 17.2 ppg but does not lead the conference due to only appearing in 14 games, one game below the minimum to be ranked. He has missed the last six games.
New Orleans is last in scoring offense (59.9) but third in scoring defense (65.6).
The Privateers are also at the bottom of the Sun Belt in turnover margin (-3.0). They have committed the most miscues per game (16.8) in the league while the Jaguars force 14.8 per contest, tied for fourth-most.
