Game Notes

MOBILE, Ala. – After a road loss at Sun Belt leader Middle Tennessee Saturday, the University of South Alabama men’s basketball team will look to open the new year with its first league win of the season Thursday against North Texas.

The game will tip off at 7:05 p.m. and can be heard on WNSP 105.5 FM and subscribers to Jaguars All-Access can watch live on USAJaguars.com. There will also be updates via live stats, twitter (@USAJaguarSports) and live chat.

“It’s always good to be playing at home,” said USA head coach Ronnie Arrow. “The next two games are vital that we win. North Texas has a good, young, talented team, but you never know how young, talented teams are going to play. Their best players are freshmen and sophomores. We didn’t play well at Middle Tennessee but this team has always come back after a loss, practiced hard and won.”

After a 1-4 start, the Mean Green have won six out of eight—thanks in part to a seven-game homestand—including a 22-point home win over Troy on Saturday.

“Again, that’s the sign of a young team,” Arrow noted. “I’ve seen games where, on paper, they didn’t shoot the ball in the first half worth beans. But in the second half, against Troy and Arkansas-Little Rock, they shot the heck out of it. That’s the way young guys play—you never know when they’re going to show up and do well or really bad.”

Thursday will see a matchup of the top two scorers in the Sun Belt in USA sophomore Augustine Rubit (Houston, Texas) and North Texas freshman Chris Jones. Rubit, who also paces the conference in rebounding (9.4 rpg), tops the scoring charts with 15.7 per contest and has a double-double in each of his last three games and four of his last five.

Jones, second with 14.9 points per game, was one rebound shy of a triple-double Saturday with 21 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds.

“He’s a very highly-rated guard,” said Arrow. “Both he and Tony Mitchell were four- and five-star players. Jones makes things happen. He’ll take you off the dribble and he’ll jump up and shoot the ball; he’s one guy that we’ll have to control. He’s very capable of having a double-double at least. We have to keep him from the ball and keep him contained where he can’t get to the hole and score.”

Mitchell, a former five-star recruit, is third on the team in scoring (10.3 ppg) and first in rebounding (6.7 rpg). He has reached double-digit points in four of the six games he has appeared in since becoming eligible in December.

“We have to go right at him,” Arrow said. “He’s young and we need to get him in foul trouble. We have to go right at him and make him guard us. We also have to keep him off the boards. Those two kids make that team go.”

South Alabama has outrebounded its last nine opponents by an average of 12.4 per game and ranks ninth in Division I in rebounding margin (+9.3). The Jags have three players ranked in the Sun Belt’s top 10 in rebounding, led by Rubit. North Texas is second in the league in rebounding margin (+5.7).

“We have to be able use our inside game to our advantage,” Arrow said. “We’re one of the top rebounding teams in the nation and we have to continue to do that. We have to finish plays inside, which is something we didn’t do against Middle. We beat them up on the boards but when we got the offensive rebound, we didn’t finish. We have to put those in the hole.”

Rubit’s double-double streak ties his career high. He had 13 points and a game-high 13 rebounds Saturday at MTSU. Rubit has put together two previous streaks of three double-doubles, but has yet to reach four. His scoring output came in spite of a 4-for-15 shooting night against the Blue Raiders, but he converted five of his seven attempts at the free throw line.

“He just didn’t shoot the ball well at all against Middle,” Arrow commented. “The effort was there, he just didn’t finish. I almost felt sorry for him. Lundy was the same way; we just couldn’t get the ball to go down on offensive rebounds or short shots. Those will start falling as long as our effort is there.”

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—