Game Notes
Game 15 • South Alabama Jaguars (8-6, 0-3) at Louisiana at Lafayette Ragin’ Cajuns (8-9, 2-1)
January 12, 2012 • 7:05 p.m. • Cajundome (11,550) • Lafayette, La.
THE COACHES
South Alabama
Ronnie Arrow (Southwest Texas State, 1969)
Record at USA: 197-150 (13th year)
Overall Record: 331-241 (21st year)
Record vs. ULL: 5-9
La.-Lafayette
Bob Marlin (Mississippi State, 1981)
Record at ULL: 22-24 (2nd year)
Overall Record: 247-155 (14th year)
LAST GAME
South Alabama lost its third straight game, 67-50 at home to Denver. Louisiana at Lafayette lost on the road to Sun Belt leader Middle Tennessee 65-53.
NEXT GAME
The Jaguars stay on the road Saturday for a game at Troy. The Ragin’ Cajuns host FIU.
ON THE AIR
Radio: 105.5 WNSP;
Lee Shirvanian (pxp)
On the web: www.wnsp.com (audio); Ragin’ Cajuns Network (video PPV)
RANKINGS (Through Jan. 8)
USA: #163 RPI (RealTimeRPI), #180 Sagarin
ULL: #174 RPI (RealTimeRPI), #181 Sagarin
THE SERIES
Tied 20-20.
Current streak: Louisiana at Lafayette, won 1
USA’s last win in series: 67-65 (2/13/10)
Last meeting: La.-Lafayette 76, South Alabama 70 OT (2/13/10)
USA’s last win at the Cajundome: 73-69 (1/16/07)
ULL’s last win at the Cajundome: 67-65 (1/24/09)
USA’s record at the Cajundome: 8-10
USA’s record on the road: 9-10
USA’s road streak: Lost 1
USA’s longest winning / losing streak in series: 3 / 4
Notes: Two of the three previous games have been by a 67-65 score; each team has one win… ULL has four wins vs. USA (three regular season, one SBC tournament) that were vacated due to NCAA penalties… The Ragin’ Cajuns won the 2008-09 game on a half-court shot by
Randell Daigle… The last six games have been decided by six points or less, including one in overtime… Neither team has dominated the other for an extended period—the longest win streak by either school is four.
OPENING TIP
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.
South Alabama is 0-3 in the Sun Belt for the first time since the 2004-05 season.
USA is 6-10 against Sun Belt West Division opponents over the last three seasons.
Only Western Kentucky has defeated a
Ronnie Arrow-coached team more than Louisiana at Lafayette. Arrow has a 13-12 record vs. WKU and is 5-9 vs. ULL.
The Ragin’ Cajuns won the last meeting in Lafayette (2008-09), 67-65 on a 3-pointer at the buzzer by
Randell Daigle.
South Alabama will be without guard
Xavier Roberson for the rest of the 2011-12 season due to injury.
The Jaguars outrebounded Denver 29-19 Saturday, marking the 11 straight game the team won the battle of the boards. USA has a 7-4 record and a plus-11.3 rebounding margin over that span. USA has three players in the league’s top 15 in rebounding (
Augustine Rubit, 1st, 8.9;
Antione Lundy, 2nd, 7.5;
Mychal Ammons, 13th, 5.6). South Alabama ranks 10th in Division I in rebounding margin.
USA has been dominant on the offensive glass, leading the Sun Belt in offensive rebounds per game (15.6) and offensive rebounding percentage (43.6%). On the season, the Jags are averaging 14.5 second-chance points per outing, compared to 11.5 for their opponents.
After scoring a season-low two points vs. North Texas due to injury,
Augustine Rubit came back and tallied a game-high 17 points against Denver on 6-for-8 shooting from the floor. His two-point performance dropped him from the top spot in the Sun Belt, but he currently resides in second with 14.8 ppg, a tenth of a point behind
Chris Jones of North Texas (14.9).
Javier Carter had four blocks Saturday to extend his streak to 11 straight games with at least one rejection. He recorded his 100th career block vs. Denver and has 102 entering Thursday’s game. Carter leads the conference and ranks 11th in the nation in blocks per game (3.0).
ULL’s loss to MTSU on Saturday ended a 12-game conference winning streak for the Cajuns.
J.J. Thomas is averaging a team-best 12.0 ppg in league play this season, all off the bench. He had a career-high 28 points and 13 rebounds vs. South Alabama last year in Mobile.
