Game Notes
Game 29 • South Alabama Jaguars (9-19, 3-12) at Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin' Cajuns (18-10, 9-6)
March 2, 2014 • 3 p.m. • Cajundome (11,550) • Lafayette, La.
THE COACHES
South Alabama
Matthew Graves (Butler, 1998)
Record at USA: 9-19 (1st year)
Overall Record: Same
Record vs. ULL: 1-0
La.-Lafayette
Bob Marlin (Mississippi State, 1981)
Record at ULL: 61-61 (4th year)
Overall Record: 286-192 (16th year)
LAST GAME
South Alabama shot just 26.9 percent in the second half in a 71-54 loss at Louisiana-Monroe. Louisiana-Lafayette lost 80-77 on a last-second shot at Georgia State.
NEXT GAME
The Jaguars return home for the first of two home games to end the season, hosting Texas State Thursday at 7:05 p.m.. The Ragin' Cajuns open the final week of the year at Western Kentucky.
ON THE AIR
TV: Sun Belt Network;
Tom Dore (pxp),
Bob Donewald (color)
Radio: 105.5 WNSP; Lee Shirvanian (pxp)
On the web: www.wnsp.com (audio)
RANKINGS (through Feb. 27)
USA: #284 RPI (RealTimeRPI), #243 Sagarin
ULL: #125 RPI (RealTimeRPI), #125 Sagarin
THE SERIES
USA leads 24-20.
Current streak: South Alabama, won 4
ULL's last win in series: 76-70 OT (1/30/11)
Last meeting: South Alabama 81, La.-Lafayette 73 (1/16/14)
USA's last win at the Cajundome: 91-89 2OT (1/10/13)
ULL's last win at the Cajundome: 67-65 (1/24/09)
USA's record at the Cajundome: 10-10
USA's record on the road: 11-10
USA's road streak: Won 2
USA's longest winning / losing streak in series: 4 / 4
Notes: USA's current win streak vs. ULL is the longest by the Jags against any Sun Belt school… Two of the last five games have been decided in overtime… The two teams traded wins in the 2008-09 (ULL) and 2009-10 (USA) seasons by the same 67-65 score… 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 contest on a half-court shot by Randell Daigle… South Alabama's 88-64 win last season broke a string of seven games in the series decided by six points or less, including two in overtime… Neither team has dominated the other for an extended period—the longest win streak by either school is four.
OPENING TIP
South Alabama's current four-game win streak over Louisiana-Lafayette is its longest active streak against a Sun Belt school.
After being outscored 36-21 in the second half by ULM Thursday, USA now has a minus-3.0 scoring margin after halftime this season and has been outscored in six of its last seven games. In the first half, the Jags are outscoring the opposition by an average of 1.9 points.
One game after setting a season high for points against a Division I school (86 vs. Troy), South Alabama scored its fewest points of the year with 54 at Louisiana-Monroe, converting just 26.9 percent in the second half.
In his first two games against Louisiana-Lafayette,
Augustine Rubit averaged just 8.5 points and 8.0 rebounds, but is averaging 27.0 points and 10.0 rebounds in his last three, including a 34-point, 12-rebound effort in Mobile last season. In the Jaguars' 81-73 win on Jan. 18, Rubit had 21 points—on 7 of 10 shooting—and nine boards, while tying his career high with five blocks.
Rubit is averaging 19.7 points in his last six games with four 20-point games over that span.
Rubit needs one more double-double to break a tie at the top of the school's career list. Both Rubit and
Terry Catledge have 52 in their career; Rubit's total leads all active Division I players.
Rubit passed Catledge Thursday for second place in USA history with 1,868 points. Rubit also jumped up to ninth in the Sun Belt record books. Rubit stands 70 points away from eighth in SBC history.
Rubit has multiple blocks in each of his last four games—3.3 per game over that span—and needs two more to tie for 25th in conference history. He has 130 in his four seasons.
In his first two career starts, Georgi Boyanov has made all five of his field-goal attempts and is averaging 5.5 points. He had six rebounds— two shy of his career high—and two steals on Feb. 22 against Troy.
Aakim Saintil dished out three assists with no turnovers Thursday and also grabbed three steals, his most since recording a career-high five on Nov. 30 at Middle Tennessee.
Louisiana-Lafayette's
Elfrid Payton is averaging 20.3 points, 6.7 assists and 2.3 steals in three career games against South Alabama. He scored 26 in ULL's double-overtime loss in Lafayette last season.
Shawn Long is averaging a double-double vs. the Jags with 13.3 points, 10.7 rebounds and 2.3 blocks, but shoots just 34.1 percent from the floor. He is the second active leading rebounder in Division I (10.3).
Kevin Brown tied his career high with 14 points against South Alabama in the first meeting on Jan. 16, converting four of his five 3-point attempts.
