Game Notes

Game 4 • South Alabama Jaguars (1-2) at #17/20 Miami Hurricanes (6-0)
November 28, 2014 • 7 p.m. • BankUnited Center (7,972) • Coral Gables, Fla.

THE COACHES
South Alabama
Matthew Graves (Butler, 1998)
Record at USA: 12-22 (2nd year)
Overall Record: Same

Miami
Jim Larrañaga (Providence, 1971)
Record at UM: 72-36 (4th year)
Overall Record: 536-370 (31st year)

LAST GAME
South Alabama scored just 20 points in the first half in a 66-53 loss at Detroit. Miami held off Charlotte on the road 77-74.

NEXT GAME
The Jaguars return home to play city rival Spring Hill Tuesday. The Hurricanes host Illinois Tuesday in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.

ON THE AIR
Radio: None
On the web: ESPN3.com http://es.pn/1yrwGls (video); Drew Nicholas (pxp), Kevin Corke (color)

RANKINGS (through Nov. 24)
USA: #340 RPI, #251 Sagarin
UM: #17 AP, #20 USA Today Coaches, #39 RPI, #7 Sagarin

THE SERIES
First Meeting.

OPENING TIP
South Alabama is 1-2 for just the second time in the last 10 years.

Friday's game will be the first meeting between South Alabama and Miami.

USA has won its last three games in the state of Florida, defeating No. 25/24 Florida State (76-71), Florida Atlantic (77-66) and Florida International (79-68) in the 2012-13 season. The Jaguars made annual trips to the Sunshine State starting in the 1970s when Jacksonville, FAU and FIU were members of the Sun Belt Conference.

Since making 11 treys in the season opener, South Alabama has made 10 shots from beyond the 3-point arc—five each at Southern Miss and Detroit—in its last two games combined. Last season the Jaguars ranked fourth in the Sun Belt in 3s per game with 7.8 per game.

The Jaguar defense had its best overall game last week at Detroit, holding the Titans to 34.4 percent shooting overall and 23.5 percent from 3-point land. Their previous two opponents shot 57.4 percent combined in the second half—Carroll converted 61.9 percent from the floor and Southern Miss shot 53.8 percent after halftime. USA ranks second in the Sun Belt in 3-point defense at 22.9 percent.

South Alabama trailed at halftime at Detroit (31-20) for the first time this season. USA had outscored its first two opponents by a total of 18 points before the break.

The Jags outrebounded Detroit 48-37, winning the battle of the boards for the second time this year. Fourteen of the 48 rebounds came on the offensive end, but they only resulted in two points. The team ranks third in the league with 13.3 offensive boards per game and a .331 offensive rebound percentage.

A newcomer has led the team in scoring and rebounding in each of the first three games. After junior John Brown and freshman Abdul Lewis posted team-high totals in scoring and rebounding, respectively, freshman Taishaun Johnson paced the Jags in both categories at Detroit with 15 points and 10 rebounds.

Johnson recorded the first double-double of his young career and became the first USA guard to have a double-double since Trey Anderson had 18 points and 11 rebounds at Louisiana-Lafayette on Jan. 12, 2012. Johnson also led the team with three assists, two 3-pointers (tie) and two steals.

Senior Dionte Ferguson, who has started three consecutive games for the first time in his career, is shooting 69.2 percent from the floor to rank second in the league.  He made four of his six attempts at Detroit for nine points to tie his highest total as a Jaguar. His career high in points is 12.

Junior Tafari Whittingham is second on the team behind Ferguson converting 54.5 percent from the field after coming off the bench to go 3-for-3 for 11 points at Detroit. He also grabbed six rebounds and blocked three shots.