Game Notes

New Orleans Privateers (1-3) at South Alabama Jaguars (3-3)
November 26, 2017 • 3:05 p.m. • Mitchell Center (10,000) • Mobile, Ala.

THE COACHES
South Alabama
Matthew Graves (Butler, 1998)
Record at USA: 54-81 (5th year)
Overall Record: Same
Record vs. New Orleans: 0-0

New Orleans
Mark Slessinger (Aurora, 1995)
Record at UNO: 78-101 (7th year)
Overall Record: Same

LAST GAME
South Alabama fell in overtime 81-77 to Stetson. New Orleans defeated Spring Hill 74-67 on Friday.

NEXT GAME
The Jaguars finish their homestand Wednesday against Southern Miss. The Privateers go to Houston on Wednesday.

ON THE AIR
Radio: 99.5 FM The Jag; J.D. Byars (pxp)
On the web: 995thejag.com/listen (audio); JagNationTV.com (video)

RANKINGS (Through Nov. 24)
USA: #256 RPI, #226 Sagarin
UNO: #314 RPI, #280 Sagarin

THE SERIES
USA leads 28-23.

Current winning streak: South Alabama, 10
UNO's last win in series: 71-51 (1/8/05)
Last meeting: South Alabama 59, New Orleans 51 (2/4/10)
USA's last win at the Mitchell Center: 62-60 (3/4/09)
UNO's last win at the Mitchell Center: 64-58 (1/8/04)
USA's record at the Mitchell Center: 13-8
USA's home streak: Won 6
USA's longest winning / losing streak in series: 10 / 5

Notes: South Alabama's 10-game win streak is the third longest active run against any opponent... Prior to the streak, New Orleans won eight out of nine, including two in overtime... USA eliminated UNO in the Sun Belt Tournament in 2008 and 2009... The series dates back to 1978... The two schools last met while members of the Sun Belt Conference.

OPENING TIP
Once Sun Belt Conference rivals, South Alabama and New Orleans are meeting for the first time since 2010, and as non-conference opponents for the first time since 1990.

The Privateers return two starters and six letterwinners from last year's NCAA Tournament team.

South Alabama's last two overtime games were 81-77 losses. The team is 1-3 in its last four OT contests.

In wins over Maine and Saint Peter's, and the first half against Stetson, the Jaguar defense held the opposition to 30.9 percent shooting from the floor and 17.4 percent from 3-point land. In the second half and overtime, Stetson shot 66.7 percent overall and 60.0 percent from distance. After halftime, the Hatters scored 55 points; in the preview two games, neither opponent scored more than 49.

Jordan Andrews had his five-game double-digit scoring streak ended Wednesday. He had eight points on 3-for-14 shooting. He still added two assists and two steals.

Rodrick Sikes set a new career high against Stetson with 32 points. In the process, he became the first Jaguar to reach the 30-point plateau since Augustine Rubit scored 35 against Gonzaga on Dec. 14, 2013.

Sikes went 7 for 13 from 3-point land, including the game-tying triple with 2.6 seconds left in regulation. The seven treys are tied for eighth in school history, and the most by a USA player since Freddie Goldstein tied his school record of nine on Feb. 11, 2012.

Josh Ajayi had a season-best 20 points vs. Stetson, which gave the Jags two players with 20 or more points for the first time since Dec. 16, 2016 against Samford.

Ajayi also set a new season high with 11 rebounds for his second double-double of the season and fifth of his career. Ajayi went 9 for 18 from the floor and dished out a career-high-tying four assists.

Trhae Mitchell had a personal-best eight rebounds on Wednesday, all on the defensive end. He leads the conference with 6.7 defensive boards per game. He only has one offensive rebound all season.

New Orleans is last in Division I in 3-pointers per game (2.8) and 3-point attempts (42), and 334th in 3-point percentage (.262).

PREVIEWING SUNDAY
Head coach Matthew Graves on New Orleans
On preparing for New Orleans: "I think we have to have a greater sense of urgency offensively. We have to execute, play at a good pace, take good shots and take care of the basketball. That's where we need to make the biggest jumps. At the same time, we have to get better defensively as well."

On the main area of improvement: "We've got to take care of the basketball. We have to get shots, and once we start getting shots, then we can focus more on shot selection. We have to execute at a pace that allows us not to turn the ball over and get shots on the glass."

On New Orleans: "They're extremely well coached. They have a lot of guys that know how to win. They play very physical and they're very patient offensively. It's going to be a low-possession game. We're going to have to bring our hard hat to this one."

On Travin Thibodeaux: "He's an outstanding player. As a senior, he's a great leader and has won a lot of games for them. He's the guy that sets the tone for them with his physicality and ability to rebound the ball and score around the basket. He's going to be a big challenge for us defensively."

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).

Join the Jaguar Athletic Fund (JAF) Priority Fund, the unrestricted giving option of the University of South Alabama Athletics. Contributions to the Priority Fund directly support all 17 sports in addition to various support programming. For more information on how you can join visit: http://jaguarathleticfund.com/give

—USA—