Game Notes

Game 16 • South Alabama Jaguars (9-6, 1-3) at Troy Trojans (6-9, 1-3)
January 14, 2012 • 8 p.m. • Sartain Hall (4,000) • Troy, Ala.

THE COACHES
South Alabama
Ronnie Arrow (Southwest Texas State, 1969)
Record at USA: 198-150 (13th year)
Overall Record: 332-241 (21st year)
Record vs. Troy: 6-5

Troy
Don Maestri (Southern Miss, 1969)
Record at Troy: 491-366 (30th year)
Overall Record: Same

LAST GAME
South Alabama overcame an eight-point deficit at halftime to win at Louisiana at Lafayette 70-65. Troy ended a four-game losing streak with a narrow win at Western Kentucky.

NEXT GAME
The Jaguars return home Thursday to host Florida International. The Trojans continue their three-game homestand against Florida Atlantic.

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); Trojans All-Access (video PPV); ESPN3.com

RANKINGS (Through Jan. 11)
USA: #176 RPI (RealTimeRPI), #175 Sagarin
Troy: #210 RPI (RealTimeRPI), #234 Sagarin

THE SERIES
USA leads 10-6.

Current winning streak: Troy, 1 win
USA’s last win in series: 83-78 (1/27/11)
Last meeting: Troy 72, South Alabama 59 (2/10/11)
USA’s last win at Sartain Hall: 83-78 (1/27/11)
Troy’s last win at Sartain Hall: 73-66 OT (1/30/10)
USA’s record at Sartain Hall: 4-2
USA’s road streak: Won 1
USA’s longest winning / losing streak in series: 5 / 2

Notes: Despite the in-state rivals being separated by about 170 miles, the two schools have met just 16 times… All but two of the meetings came after Troy joined the Sun Belt in 2005… South Alabama won the two pre-Sun Belt clashes in 1993 and 1995… The Jaguars won the first five games in the series and seven of the first eight… South Alabama won the first three clashes in Troy but has lost two of the last three… A buzzer-beating shot gave USA a 69-67 victory in Mobile on Jan. 16, 2010… The Trojans have won three of the last four against the Jags.

OPENING TIP
Thanks to the Jags’ win at Louisiana at Lafayette, USA head coach Ronnie Arrow tied Dickey Nutt for second place all-time in Sun Belt Conference history with 103 league wins. He needs nine more to become the conference’s career leader. He also needs two victories to reach 200 at South Alabama.

The Jaguars outrebounded Louisiana at Lafayette 43-35 Thursday, marking the 12 straight game the team won the battle of the boards. USA has a 8-4 record and a plus-11.0 rebounding margin over that span. USA has two of the top three rebounders in the Sun Belt Conference in Augustine Rubit (1st, 8.7) and Antione Lundy (3rd, 7.3), and has two more (Mychal Ammons and Javier Carter) in the top 20. 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 (15.7) and offensive rebounding percentage (43.5%). On the season, the Jags are averaging 14.7 second-chance points per outing, compared to 11.3 for their opponents. South Alabama’s 17 offensive rebounds Thursday at ULL led to 17 second-chance points.

With six blocks at ULL, Javier Carter extended his streak to 12 straight games with at least one rejection. He recorded his 100th career block last week vs. Denver and has 108 entering Thursday’s game. His fourth block will move him into third place on USA’s career blocks list, passing John May. Carter leads the conference and ranks 11th in the nation in blocks per game (3.2).

With 18 points and 11 rebounds at ULL, Trey Anderson enjoyed a career night, setting new personal highs in both categories for his first-ever double-double. After not scoring more than seven in the first 12 games of the season, he is averaging 14.0 points in the last three, scoring in double-figures each game.

South Alabama committed 16 turnovers Thursday, tying its fewest in seven games and had less than its opponent for the first time since Dec. 11 vs. Alcorn State. USA is last in the SBC in turnover margin (-3.57) and turnovers per game (16.9). Troy, on the other hand, leads the league in TO margin (+3.00) and commits the second-fewest miscues (12.8).

Troy ranks second in the Sun Belt in scoring (72.2 ppg) but only has one player in the top 20: Will Weathers (11.9 ppg, 14th). The Trojans have tallied more than 70 points once in the last eight games.

Of that scoring average, 29.1 points come from behind the 3-point line. Troy’s 9.7 threes per contest are second-most in the nation. Denver, the Sun Belt’s second-ranked 3-point shooting team (8.6 pg), went 11-for-26 from behind the arc against South Alabama last week.