Game Notes

Game 9 • South Alabama Jaguars (5-3) at Florida International Panthers (3-4)
December 2, 2017 • 6 p.m. CST • Ocean Bank Convocation Center (5,000) • Miami, Fla.

THE COACHES
South Alabama
Matthew Graves (Butler, 1998)
Record at USA: 56-81 (5th year)
Overall Record: Same
Record vs. FIU: 1-0

FIU
Anthony Evans (St. Thomas Aquinas, 1994)
Record at FIU: 54-80 (5th year)
Overall Record: 153-174 (11th year)

LAST GAME
South Alabama jumped out to a huge lead on Southern Miss in a 69-58 win Wednesday. Florida International defeated Florida National 79-61 Wednesday.

NEXT GAME
The Jaguars return after a short break to play at Southern Illinois-Edwardsville on Dec. 10. The Panthers go to South Florida on Dec. 11.

ON THE AIR
Radio: None
On the web: None
Live stats: http://statb.us/v/sala/191735

RANKINGS (Through Nov. 30)
USA: #228 RPI, #166 Sagarin
FIU: #324 RPI, #321 Sagarin

THE SERIES
USA leads 20-8.

Current winning streak: USA, 3 wins
FIU's last win in series: 81-74 (2/25/12)
Last meeting: South Alabama 69, FIU 64 OT (11/18/16)
USA's last win at Century Bank Arena: 79-68 (12/1/12)
FIU's last win at Century Bank Arena: 81-74 (2/25/12)
USA's record at Century Bank Arena: 8-5
USA's record on the road: 9-5
USA's road streak: Won 1
USA's longest winning / losing streak in series: 6 / 2

Notes: Last year's meeting was the first since 2012-13 when FIU was a member of the Sun Belt Conference… FIU ended a six-game losing streak to South Alabama Jan. 8, 2011 in Miami; the win (73-62) was the Panthers' second-biggest win in the series (74-43 in 1998)… USA's win streak was its longest all-time vs. FIU… FIU has a 1-0 record in the Sun Belt Tournament… The series was 16-10 USA after FIU joined the league in 1998… The Feb. 11, 2010 meeting in Mobile, a 69-65 USA win, was the first in the series to go to overtime… Two FIU wins in the 2004-05 season (one regular season, one SBC Tournament) were vacated due to NCAA penalties.

OPENING TIP
The two schools met 24 times as members of the Sun Belt Conference from 1998-2013, then resumed the series last year in Mobile, a 69-64 USA victory.

South Alabama is 4-1 this season when scoring 69 points or fewer in a game. The team had nine such wins in the previous four years under head coach Matthew Graves, and no more than three in a season. The four wins are the most since the 2012-13 campaign.

The Jaguars have held five opponents to 59 points or fewer, the most since the 2013-14 season, and are 5-0 in those games. The record for sub-60 point games under Graves is six in 2013-14.

South Alabama enjoyed its best defensive performance in the first half of the season Wednesday, holding Southern Miss to 19 points and 25.9 percent shooting. That enabled the Jags to hold a 21-point lead at halftime, which is tied for the most against a Division I opponent under Graves.

The Jaguars are 24th in the nation in scoring defense (61.4 ppg), 54th in field-goal percentage defense (.391) and 14th in 3-point percentage defense (.257).

Going into the Southern Miss game, South Alabama averaged 17.3 turnovers in its previous three games, but had just 11 Wednesday, tying its season low. The Jags recorded a positive assist/turnover ratio for the second time this season, and first against a Division I opponent.

The Jaguars won the rebounding battle Wednesday 37-33, improving to 4-0 this season when doing so, but did it despite pulling down just five offensive rebounds and zero in the second half.

Trhae Mitchell is third in the Sun Belt in defensive rebounds per game (6.0) but only has one offensive rebound all season. His rebounding average of 6.1 per game is tied with Josh Ajayi for the team lead.

Joe Thompson played just 19 minutes combined in the team's first six games of the year, but has seen 26 minutes of action in the last two games combined. He was on the floor for 14 minutes against USM and made 2 of his 3 field-goal attempts while pulling down a career-best nine rebounds.

Nick Davis made his first career start Sunday against New Orleans, and since then, has set new career highs in assists (4) and steals (4) vs. UNO, and rebounds (11) and blocks (5) against Southern Miss.

Rodrick Sikes led the team in scoring Wednesday for the fourth straight game with 20 points. He went 7 for 15 from the floor and 3 for 9 from 3-point land.

In his last three games, Sikes is averaging 22.3 points, and shooting 48.8 percent from the field, 46.4 percent from behind the 3-point line, and 87.5 percent from the free-throw line.

Sikes is eighth in the Sun Belt in scoring (16.0 ppg) and tied for sixth in 3-pointers per game (2.8).

FIU's Eric Lockett has scored 19 points or more in five of his last six outings. In his last two games, he's averaging 20.5 points and shooting 54.8 percent from the floor. That includes a 21-point outing against South Carolina.

PREVIEWING SATURDAY
Head coach Matthew Graves on Florida International
On heading back out on the road: "I'm excited that we have some momentum heading back out on the road. It was a solid homestand for us – we played some good basketball at times. Defensively, I'm really pleased with some of the things we've been able to do, especially rebounding the basketball. Offensively, we started to show signs of making progress in our last game. We have to finish out this tough stretch, kind of an NBA schedule of games, on Saturday. Then we'll have eight or nine days to regroup. The break will be good for our team, but we want to finish strong."

On if the defense is where it needs to be: "We're not where we need to be but we're making progress in that direction. We still have to do a better job of guarding the dribble, and we have to continue to close out and make shots more difficult around the rim – teams are shooting too high of a percentage on 2-point field goals. We have to show a physicality and continue to rebound, because as we get later in the season, particularly in conference play, the teams we'll play are really good rebounding teams."

On FIU: "FIU has the ability to score in bunches. They have five guys that average in double figures, and they can really get hot from the 3-point line. Defensively, they're very aggressive and attacking, and we'll have to do a great job not allowing them to get out in transition with live-ball turnovers."

On preparing for Eric Lockett: "I'm excited that we have some momentum heading back out on the road. It was a solid homestand for us – we played some good basketball at times. Defensively, I'm really pleased with some of the things we've been able to do, especially rebounding the basketball. Offensively, we started to show signs of making progress in our last game. We have to finish out this tough stretch, kind of an NBA schedule of games, on Saturday. Then we'll have eight or nine days to regroup. The break will be good for our team, but we want to finish strong."

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—