Game Notes

MOBILE, Ala. – The University of South Alabama men's basketball team will attempt to get back to its high-scoring form of early January when Georgia State comes to the Mitchell Center Saturday afternoon.

The two teams will tip off at 4:05 p.m. Subscribers to South Alabama All-Access can watch online at USAJaguars.com, and anyone can listen on 710 AM or at iHeartRadio.com. Updates throughout the game can be found on live stats on the USA home page or on Twitter at @SouthAlaMBK.

At halftime, AcroDunk will make its annual visit to Mobile and perform at halftime.

"We certainly want to get off to a much better start," USA head coach Matthew Graves said. "We've struggled in the last two games in the half, digging ourselves into a hole and only scoring 18 points in both games. We've got to figure out a way to get on track. It's not really the start of the game, per se, but playing throughout the first half and getting into a really good rhythm. Part of that is taking better shots. We took OK shots against Texas State, but I don't think we took enough great shots, especially early in the ball game. We've also got to find ways to get to the free-throw line. The more we get to the line, the better we're able to get in an offensive rhythm."

After averaging over 82 points in a six-game stretch starting Jan. 3, the USA offense has struggled, and aside from an 89-point outburst in a win over Louisiana-Lafayette, has scored 61 or fewer four times in five games.

In the team's five Sun Belt Conference wins it averages 84.0 points, but is only putting up 64.0 points in seven losses.

"It's an unfortunate it's that way, but that's the reality and you can't hide from it," Graves said. "We have to embrace it and figure out the best way to score some points. Defensively we are deficient in some areas and we need to manage those areas the best we can. The bottom line is, for this team and how we need to play, we need to figure out ways to score the basketball. Georgia State presents a unique challenge in the fact that we'll see 40 minutes of a zone defense. They play various types of zones and you've got to make shots. When they play zone, we can't rely on shooting a bunch of 3s; we have to continue to drive the ball find ways to get to the free-throw line."

Sophomore Ken Williams (Houston, Texas) scored a team-high nine points in the loss to Texas State Wednesday, marking the eighth time in the last 10 games Williams has led the team in scoring. He is seventh in the league with 15.1 points per game and a 37.5 long-point percentage, and fourth in 3-pointers per game (2.5).

Williams, who has multiple treys in nine of his last 10 outings, including four in a row entering Saturday, needs four to tie for 10th on USA's career 3-point list. He currently has 112.

Georgia State (15-8, 8-4) had its four-game win streak snapped Thursday at league-leader Georgia Southern and is in third in the SBC standings. Despite the loss, the Panthers are off to their third-best start in school history.

GSU swept the season series from USA last year and has won three in a row over the Jags.

The Panthers boast the top two scorers in the league in Ryan Harrow and R.J. Hunter. Harrow tops the conference with 20.4 per game, and is converting 49.3 percent from the floor (10th in SBC) and 37.2 percent from 3-point range (9th).

Hunter averages 19.7 points and 2.3 treys per contest, and ranks in the Sun Belt's top 10 in seven different categories.

"They are a very talented offensive team," Graves noted. "Hunter and Harrow are two of the top scorers in the league and they are capable of putting up 50 or 60 points combined in a single game, so we're going to have to do a tremendous job of limiting their opportunities on the offensive end of the floor.

"Defensively, they switch between a 3-2, 2-3 and 1-3-1 zone and give you different looks and try to confuse you. We've got to not necessarily worry about what zone they're in, but be in a mindset of attacking whatever zone it is."

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—