Game Notes

MOBILE, Ala. – A trip to the NCAA Tournament is up for grabs as the Sun Belt Conference Men’s Basketball Tournament starts play Saturday in Hot Springs, Ark.

The University of South Alabama, the No. 4 seed from the East Division will take on the fifth seed out of the West, Arkansas at Little Rock, at 9 p.m.

The game can be heard in Mobile on 105.5 WNSP or online at WNSP.com. A videostream will be available for SBC Extra subscribers at SunBeltSports.org.

“I’ve never been in a conference tournament that is so wide open,” USA head coach Ronnie Arrow said before practice Wednesday. “I think a good five-to-eight teams could win this thing. There’s no team head and shoulders above anybody else. I would imagine that there will be some major upsets in the first few rounds. The team that goes there with the mentality of winning and keeps their heads fresh for what they’re there for, is going to be the team that wins it.”

South Alabama and UALR met just a week ago when USA put up a season-high 92 points and had seven players in double-figure scoring in a 92-79 victory.

“By far it was the best game we’ve played all year long," said Arrow. "The best part is playing them is fresh on our mind—we know their personnel and what they run. Going over their material the next two days will be easy for us.

“The biggest difference is, we love the Mitchell Center,” Arrow continued. “Now we’re going to be playing over there at the closest facility to Little Rock. It’ll be like a home game for them. Two years ago (2009), when we had a really good team, we played Little Rock and beat them in front of a packed house. We look forward to hopefully doing the same thing.”

While it may seem strange to play two games just over a week apart, it happened only two years ago when the Jags faced Troy in the regular season finale on Feb. 28, 2009 before an SBC Quarterfinal rematch on March 8.

The contest will feature the Sun Belt’s player and freshman of the year. UALR’s Solomon Bozeman was tabbed the league’s player of the year on Thursday after ranking second in the conference during the regular season in scoring (15.8 ppg) and first in 3-point field goal percentage (47.2%). He led all scorers with 20 points vs. South Alabama last week and averages 19.5 points in two career games against the Jags.

The Sun Belt’s freshman of the year is USA’s Augustine Rubit (Houston, Texas). The first-year player leads the conference and is fifth in the nation in rebounding (11.1 rpg). He enters the tournament with three straight double-doubles and had 19 points and 12 rebounds Sunday against Florida Atlantic.

Rubit hopes to lead the Jaguars into the quarterfinals for the fifth straight year. The program has one title and another trip to the championship game during that span.

“I think right now we’re playing good basketball," said Arrow. "We need to continue to do that. The biggest thing with us is playing with effort.”

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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