Game Notes

Game 22 • South Alabama Jaguars (10-11, 4-6) at Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders (11-12, 6-4)
Feb. 5, 2011 • 3 p.m. • Murphy Center (11,520) • Murfreesboro, Tenn.

THE COACHES
South Alabama
Ronnie Arrow (Southwest Texas State, 1969)
Record at USA: 186-139 (12th year)
Overall Record: 320-230 (20th year)
Record vs. Western Kentucky: 12-12

Middle Tenn.
Kermit Davis (Mississippi State, 1982)
Record at MTSU: 148-122 (9th year)
Overall Record: 219-172 (13th year)

LAST GAME
South Alabama won at Western Kentucky 80-76 Thursday. Middle Tennessee defeated Louisiana at Monroe 60-54.

NEXT GAME
The Jaguars host Troy Feb. 10 at 7:05 p.m. The Blue Raiders travel to Western Kentucky.

ON THE AIR
Radio: 105.5 WNSP; Lee Shirvanian (pxp)
On the web: www.wnsp.com (audio)

RANKINGS (Through Feb. 3)
USA: #304 RPI (RealTimeRPI), #292 Sagarin
MTSU: #186 RPI (RealTimeRPI), #209 Sagarin

THE SERIES
Tied 12-12.

Current winning streak: South Alabama, 1
MTSU’s last win in series: 81-54 (2/20/10)
Last meeting: South Alabama 63, MTSU 57 (1/2/11)
Last five games: MTSU leads 3-2
USA’s last win at the Murphy Center: 63-57 (2/19/09)
MTSU’s last win at the Murphy Center: 81-54 (2/20/10)
USA’s record at the Murphy Center: 5-3
USA’s road streak: Lost 1
USA’s longest winning / losing streak in series: 4 / 3

Notes: Middle Tennessee has won five of the last seven 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 last year, winning both by double-digits… Middle Tennessee has eliminated South Alabama in four consecutive SBC Tournament meetings.

OPENING TIP
Thursday USA head coach Ronnie Arrow became the third coach in Sun Belt history to win 100 conference games. He ranks third in league history, three behind Dickey Nutt who had 103 at Arkansas State from 1996-08.

Only two of South Alabama’s 10 wins have come when the team scores less than 80 points. The Jaguars average 81.0 points in wins and have outscored the opposition by an average of 14.8 points.

The Jaguars have won two straight on the road after starting out 1-7. They had not won consecutive games away from home since winning four in a row Nov. 29, 2009-Jan. 2, 2010.

USA’s Gary Redus scored a game-high 26 points at WKU—19 in the second half—and is averaging 25.0 points in his last three outings. He hit 5 of 6 from distance and is converting 77.8% (14-18) of his 3s during his recent run. He had nine triples total in the first 18 games. His 75 points are the most in a three-game span by a USA player since Demetric Bennett had 76 in March 2008. Redus has the top two single-game 3-point totals in the last two seasons.

Redshirt freshman Augustine Rubit was held to eight rebounds at WKU, ending his four-game streak with double-digit rebounds, but has moved up to sixth in the nation in rebounding (11.0). He leads all Division I freshmen in rebounding and is tied for first among rookies in double-doubles (10).

USA’s Allyn Cooks came off the bench Thursday and scored 13 points in 34 minutes, but had his team-high streak of nine straight games with a 3-pointer snapped.

Antione Lundy played 17 minutes in his season debut and had two points and five rebounds. He missed the first 20 games due to an ACL injury he suffered in April.

Martino Brock dished out a career-high seven assists with no turnovers at WKU. He is the first USA player to have that many assists without a miscue since the 2007-08 season. He is averaging 2.7 assists per contest this year (13th in the SBC) after posting a 1.9 average last year. He has at least two assists in six of his last seven games.