MOBILE, Ala. --- The University of South Alabama’s men’s basketball team takes its chances for the NCAA Tournament to Hot Springs, Ark. for the Sun Belt Championships starting Saturday afternoon.
The ninth-seeded Jaguars (16-14, 8-10) will take on eighth-seeded Florida Atlantic (14-15, 10-8) at 2:15 p.m. at Summit Arena. The winner will face top-seeded Troy (18-11, 13-5) Sunday at 6:45 p.m.
Live audio of the game can be heard on 105.5 WNSP in Mobile and worldwide at www.wnsp.com. A videostream will be available through the league’s SBC Extra package available for purchase at www.sunbeltsports.org.
South Alabama ended the regular season by rallying from 22 points down against Denver for a dramatic 54-52 win, giving the team some much-needed momentum heading into the tournament.
“I hope it does (give us momentum) and I hope that splitting with FAU in the regular season helps too,” said head coach Ronnie Arrow. “Our draw works out so that we’ll play teams that we split with and had the ability to win both games. The last win that we had plus knowing we had an opportunity to win both games against our next two opponents in the regular season should hopefully help us also.”
USA and FAU each won on the other’s home floor. The Jags staged another rally in Boca Raton, coming back from a 15-point deficit to win 96-93 in overtime while the Owls reeled off a 13-0 run late for a 70-59 win in Mobile.
The teams combined for 189 points and 48.9% shooting in the first game but only 129 points and 36.4% in the last one.
“It’s going to be the same as our last game – it’s going to be a defensive struggle,” said Arrow. “We’ve got to stop Greg Gantt and Brett Royster, who is a monster in shot blocking and rebounding. They’re bigger than us but we should be quicker. The main ingredient for us right now to win is we have to guard. If our defense is playing at its best, we have a shot to win the tournament.”
The Owls are one of the best 3-point shooting teams in the conference, ranking second in 3-point percentage (38.7%) and 3-pointers per game (7.4), while Gantt leads the league in 3s per game (2.9). The Jaguars, however, have allowed four of their last six opponents to shoot 50% or better from long-range.
“We’ve struggled lately, but then again, we haven’t,” said Arrow. “Denver was 9-for-13 in the first half and in the second half, didn’t hit a ‘3.’ So it just depends on how we’re guarding. We’ve been up-and-down on defense, but now is the time to show up. If we’re going to advance to the NCAA Tournament, we’re going to have to defend.”
South Alabama will be buoyed by the return of senior Bryan Sherrer who has missed the last four games with a knee injury.
“Bryan brings us stability,” said Arrow of Sherrer, who started the first 26 games of the season. “How much he’ll be able to play and contribute, we don’t know. Wednesday was his first day at being back at full speed. But if he’s able to give us a good 15-to-25 minutes, he gives us a valuable, experienced player and brings a lot of stability in helping us win this tournament.”
USA junior Tim Williams is averaging 21.3 points in his last four outings, including 22 vs. Denver with the game-winning shot coming with seven seconds left in the game. He was named to the All-Sun Belt Second Team and carries a 16.1 points-per-game average into the weekend.
“He’s been our backbone and the guy we turn to on offense to make the big buckets,” said Arrow. “He’s had a very good year. A junior college player can take up to a year to fit into the program. He’s picked up our stuff very quickly for a first-year player and he’s not going to do anything but get better and better.”
For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).
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