Game Notes

Game 21 • South Alabama Jaguars (11-9, 4-3) at Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns (17-3, 7-0)
January 25, 2018 • 7:15 p.m. • Cajundome (11,550) • Lafayette, La.

THE COACHES
South Alabama
Matthew Graves (Butler, 1998)
Record at USA: 62-87 (5th year)
Overall Record: Same
Record vs. ULL: 4-4

UL Lafayette
Bob Marlin (Mississippi State, 1981)
Record at ULL: 145-107 (7th year)
Overall Record: 370-238 (18th year)

LAST GAME
South Alabama came back from an eight-point deficit in the second half to get win No. 800 in program history, 83-77 over Appalachian State. Louisiana blitzed Texas State 80-55 in San Marcos.

NEXT GAME
The Jaguars stay in Louisiana to take on ULM Saturday. The Ragin' Cajuns host Troy.

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

RANKINGS (Through Jan. 23)
USA: #240 RPI, #226 Sagarin
ULL: #58 RPI, #50 Sagarin

THE SERIES
USA leads 27-24.

Current streak: Louisiana, won 2
USA's last win in series: 83-70 (2/27/16)
Last meeting: Louisiana 87, South Alabama 61 (2/13/17)
USA's last win at the Cajundome: 89-82 (1/17/15)
ULL's last win at the Cajundome: 87-61 (2/13/17)
USA's record at the Cajundome: 11-13
USA's record on the road: 12-13
USA's road streak: Lost 2
USA's longest winning / losing streak in series: 4 / 4

Notes: South Alabama had a four-game win streak in the series ended in 2013-14 with the largest loss ever to ULL (102-74)… 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 in Lafayette on a half-court shot by Randell Daigle… South Alabama's 88-64 win in 2012-13 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
The South Alabama coaching staff will be participating in the National Association of Basketball Coaches' and American Cancer Society's Coaches vs Cancer Suits and Sneakers Awareness Week. Sun Belt men's and women's coaches will swap their dress shoes for sneakers and gold Princess Lacey's laces and join more than 4,000 basketball coaches and staff across the country in support of the American Cancer Society's efforts to combat cancer. In addition, Division I men's basketball coaches will also be wearing an exclusive Coaches vs. Cancer tie designed by Vineyard Vines.

The win over Appalachian State Saturday improved South Alabama's all-time record to 800-627 in 50 seasons.

South Alabama is shooting 26.6 percent (47-177) from behind the 3-point line in the last seven games, and 21.4 percent (12-56) in the last three.

Appalachian State converted 10 times from behind the arc on Saturday, to tie the most treys allowed this season, and set a new season high in shooting 47.6 percent.

The Jaguars are fifth in the nation in 3-point defense (.290), and lead the Sun Belt. They also lead the league in blocks (4.7 bpg), are second in field-goal defense (.400), and third in scoring defense (66.2 ppg).

Nationally, South Alabama is 28th in field-goal defense, 46th in blocks and 48th in scoring defense.

USA shot 52.8 percent vs. App State to improve to 4-0 (2-0 SBC) when hitting 50 percent of its attempts.

After starting the season 0-7 when trailing at halftime, the Jaguars have won their last two games when down at intermission.

South Alabama nine-point comeback Saturday was its largest of the season, and the team tied its biggest second-half rally (eight points).

USA won for the first time Saturday when allowing 70 points or more to improve 1-9 this season.

South Alabama will be going for its first road win of the year Thursday (0-7).

Rodrick Sikes led all scorers with 26 points vs. App State. It was his sixth 20-point game this season, and ninth straight game with 15 or more. The team is 4-2 when hits the 20-point plateau.

Thirteen of Sikes' points came at the free-throw line. The 13 conversions are tied for 12th in school history, and tied for second in Mitchell Center history.

Sikes is averaging a league-best 21.6 points in conference games and has scored in double-digits in 19 consecutive contests.

Josh Ajayi recorded his fifth double-double of the season Saturday with 24 points and 11 rebounds. He has back-to-back double-doubles for the first time in his career.

In his last two games, Ajayi is averaging 21.0 points and 11.5 rebounds, and is shooting 60.0 percent from the field and 81.8 percent from the foul line.

Louisiana is the only undefeated team in Sun Belt play this season at 7-0, and is off to the school's best start overall (17-3) since 1972-73.

The Ragin' Cajuns lead the conference in scoring offense (84.3), scoring margin (+15.3), field-goal percentage (.473), rebounding margin (+7.2), assists (18.2), steals (8.2) and assist/turnover ratio (1.3).

Bryce Washington is the only player in the league to average a double-double (10.3 ppg, 10.7 rpg), and JaKeenan Gant leads the Sun Belt in field-goal percentage (.602).

PREVIEWING THURSDAY
Head coach Matthew Graves on Louisiana
On starting a road trip: "I'm excited for the opportunity to get back out on the road and compete against the best team in the league right now. Louisiana is playing at a high level, and based off statistics and watching them on film, they might be the best team that I've seen in my tenure as head coach at South Alabama."

On how the team improved over the four-game homestand: "I thought the biggest area we improved was our toughness. In our last two games, we were able to overcome halftime deficits, fight back and make tough plays down the stretch, whether that was getting defensive stops or stepping up and making free throws. I thought our guys got a lot tougher in the last two games, and I was proud of that."

On Louisiana: "They're extremely dangerous because they're so versatile. They have the ability to score in transition, in the half court, on the perimeter and in the post, and they have depth. They're willing to defend too. In the past, they've been a little loose on the defensive end. This year, they are really locked in defensively and making it hard for teams to score."

On how to defend their multiple weapons: "We have to play our system. As the game goes on, we'll make adjustments, but we have to play our system because that's what we're most comfortable doing. We have to fly around, be active, and ultimately, rebound the basketball. That's going to be a huge key in this game on Thursday."

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—