Game Notes

Game 12 • South Alabama Jaguars (8-3, 0-0) at Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders (12-2, 1-0)
December 31, 2011 • 2:30 p.m. • Murphy Center (11,520) • Murfreesboro, Tenn.

THE COACHES
South Alabama
Ronnie Arrow (Southwest Texas State, 1969)
Record at USA: 197-147 (13th year)
Overall Record: 331-238 (21st year)
Record vs. MTSU: 4-6

Middle Tennessee
Kermit Davis (Mississippi State, 1982)
Record at MTSU: 165-128 (10th year)
Overall Record: 236-178 (14th year)

LAST GAME
South Alabama rallied from a six-point deficit in the second half to defeat San Diego 68-62 in Las Vegas. Middle Tennessee outlasted FIU at home 71-66.

NEXT GAME
The Jaguars host their Sun Belt home opener Thursday against North Texas. The Blue Raiders travel to Troy Thursday.

ON THE AIR
TV: Sun Belt Network; Joe Davis (pxp), Dave Odom (color)
Radio: 105.5 WNSP; Lee Shirvanian (pxp)
On the web: www.wnsp.com (audio); GoBlueRaiders.com (video PPV)

RANKINGS (Through Dec. 28)
USA: #114 RPI (RealTimeRPI), #106 Sagarin
MT: #93 RPI (RealTimeRPI), #47 Sagarin

THE SERIES
Middle Tennessee leads 13-12.

Current winning streak: Middle Tennessee, 1 win
USA’s last win in series: 63-57 (1/2/11)
Last meeting: MTSU 85, South Alabama 62 (2/5/11)
USA’s last win at the Murphy Center: 63-57 (2/19/09)
MTSU’s last win at the Murphy Center: 85-62 (1/2/11)
USA’s record at the Murphy Center: 5-4
USA’s road streak: Lost 2
USA’s longest winning / losing streak in series: 4 / 3

Notes: Middle Tennessee has won six of the last eight meetings… USA’s last two wins have come by the same 63-57 score… The schools played just once from 1982-2001 before MTSU entered the Sun Belt… The Blue Raiders swept the Jaguars in 2009-10, winning both by double-digits… Middle Tennessee has eliminated South Alabama in four consecutive SBC Tournament meetings.

OPENING TIP
The Jaguars have played just twice in their history on New Year’s Eve, losing 82-76 to UAB in 2004 and defeating FIU 71-59 in 2009.

A win will tie USA head coach Ronnie Arrow with Dickey Nutt for second place all-time in Sun Belt Conference history with 103 league wins.

By outrebounding San Diego 44-24 on Dec. 22, South Alabama improved to 8-1 on the year when winning the battle of the boards. The plus-20 margin was the third-largest margin this season and it was the eighth straight game the Jags had more rebounds than its opponent (+13.0 during that span).

Getting off to a fast start is not unheard of in recent USA history: the 2009-10 team also started 8-3, and was 11-4 before finishing with a 17-15 record. In 2007-08, Arrow’s first season back in Mobile, the Jags were 8-3 after 11 games and eventually 17-3, thanks to a 13-game winning streak. That team earned an at-large berth in the NCAA Tournament. The program last won seven out of eight games at the end of the 2008-09 season.

Since setting a new career-high in scoring in three straight games, Antione Lundy has alternated single-digit and double-digit performances. He tallied a career-best 18 vs. Alcorn State, but scored six his next time out at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. He totaled 16 against Georgia Southern but was held to two against San Diego. His rebounding has remained consistent with at least six in five of his last six games, including three double-digit games (two double-doubles).

After putting up six or more blocks in six straight games, South Alabama has just five in its last two outings. Since recording zero on Nov. 20 at FSU, the Jaguars are averaging 6.8 rejections per contest. The team’s average of 5.7 per game leads the Sun Belt and is 13th in Division I. Javier Carter ranks eighth in the nation and tops in the conference with 3.1 per contest, and has at least one block in eight straight games.

Freddie Goldstein’s five 3-pointers (and 10 attempts) vs. USD are the most by a USA player this season. Since being shut out at FSU, he has at least one trey in eight straight games, including 10 in the last three. The Jags’ eight trifectas Dec. 22 were also a team-season high.

USA is 5-0 this season when Augustine Rubit has a double-double and 7-0 when any player has one. Rubit had 15 points and a game-high 13 rebounds vs. San Diego for his 19th career double-double. He leads the Sun Belt in both scoring (15.9 ppg) and rebounding (9.1 rpg).