Game Notes

MOBILE, Ala. – University of South Alabama men’s basketball head coach Ronnie Arrow knows what it takes for his team to get a home win: consistency.

The Jaguars have dropped three in row in the Mitchell Center and welcome Sun Belt Conference leader Middle Tennessee Saturday night at 7:05 p.m.

Jaguars All-Access subscribers can watch the game online at USAJaguars.com. Fans can also follow the action via live stats, twitter (@USAJaguarSports) or live chat on USAJaguars.com.

“Consistency has been our downfall,” said Arrow. “We don’t appreciate what wins games for us. We understand it, but don’t go and do it. Consistency has to be our strength from now on, in that we have to take care of the ball and we have to shoot free throws. We work on free throws a lot; it’s mind over matter. We have to make them in crucial situations. Consistency is our biggest thing now and what we’ve been able to fall back on is our defense. Last night, we didn’t hold them at all—they started 5-for-6 from the floor. We have to show up at the start of games and be ready to play.”

Turnovers and free throw shooting have plagued the Jaguars in recent weeks and played a part in the loss Thursday to FIU. The Jags have failed to reach 60 percent at the line in four of the last six games.

“The only thing we can do as a coaching staff and as a team is to go hard in practice and get rid of the little things that we’re not doing late in the game,” Arrow said. “When we do them, we win; when we don’t do them, we don’t win. It’s been like that all year long. When we don’t shoot free throws and take care of the ball, we don’t win. If we don’t shoot free throws like we did against FIU, it puts a different complexion on the game. If we make them, instead of being down with a minute to go, you’re four or five up. The strategy completely changes.”

The Blue Raiders are the Sun Belt’s hottest team and enter the weekend with an 18-2 overall record and remain the only undefeated team in league play at 7-0. Thanks to a current 10-game winning streak, MT has matched the best start in school history.

“They haven’t changed much from the first time we played them,” Arrow noted. “They’re tough, they’re physical and they’re playing with a whole lot of confidence, from the point guard through the center. They’re playing with confidence and they know they can win. But they’re not a team that we can’t take care of.”

Middle Tennessee, which leads the Sun Belt in scoring offense (72.6 ppg) and scoring defense (59.8 ppg), jumped out to a 26-point lead at halftime in the first meeting between the two teams on Dec. 31. MT shot 55.6 percent from the floor in the first half and got a double-double from LaRon Dendy.

“When we played them the first time, we kept shooting ourselves in the foot—we had turnovers, made bad decisions and they pressured us out of our offense. We have to be able to run our offense. We outscored them by 10 points in the second half, so it’s not something that we can’t handle, that they’re that much better than we are.”

Dendy had 21 points and 11 rebounds against the Jags in December, including 18 in the first half alone.

“We can’t let him get to feeling good about himself,” Arrow said. “I think he was 9-for-10 from the floor in the first half against us, but only had three points in the second half. That shows us that we can defend him.”

Part of that defensive effort will come from sophomore Augustine Rubit (Houston, Texas), who had a double-double of his own against Middle Tennessee with 13 points and 13 rebounds. In three career games against MT, he averages 14.0 points and 11.7 rebounds.

“Winning at Louisiana-Lafayette and LSU shows that we have a good team; we have to play with the confidence and the ability we have to get things done,” Arrow said.

For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/USAJaguarSports. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).

—USA—