Game Notes

Game 16 • South Alabama Jaguars (8-7, 2-1) at UT Arlington Mavericks (10-6, 1-2)
January 6, 2018 • 4:15 p.m. • College Park Center (7,000) • Arlington, Texas

THE COACHES
South Alabama
Matthew Graves (Butler, 1998)
Record at USA: 59-85 (5th year)
Overall Record: Same
Record vs. UTA: 3-5

UT Arlington
Scott Cross (Texas-Arlington, 1988)
Record at UTA: 214-154 (12th year)
Overall Record: Same

LAST GAME
South Alabama fell behind early and could never catch Texas State in a 72-69 road loss Thursday. UT Arlington picked up its first Sun Belt win of the year over Troy 86-76.

NEXT GAME
The Jaguars open a four-game homestand Tuesday against Trinity Baptist. The Mavericks travel to Little Rock.

ON THE AIR
Radio: 99.5 FM The Jag; J.D. Byars (pxp)
On the web: 995thejag.com/listen (audio); ESPN3 (video)

RANKINGS (Through Jan. 4)
USA: #227 RPI, #202 Sagarin
UTA: #145 RPI, #132 Sagarin

THE SERIES
USA leads 8-5.

Current winning streak: UT Arlington, 3 wins
USA's last win in series: 88-85 OT (1/16/16)
Last meeting: UT Arlington 86, South Alabama 75 (2/25/17)
USA's last win at the College Park Center: N/A
USA's last win in Arlington: 87-79 (12/17/77)
UTA's last win in Arlington: 86-75 (2/25/17)
USA's record in Arlington: 1-4
USA's road streak: Lost 4
USA's longest winning / losing streak in series: 5 / 3

Notes: Before UT Arlington entered the Sun Belt before the 2013-14 season, the last game between the two schools was in 2003 and the one prior to that was in 1981… Nine of the 13 meetings have been decided by eight points or fewer… The Mavericks' last visit to Mobile prior to the 2013-14 season was for the 1981 NIT, a 74-71 Jaguar victory… USA and UTA have met twice on neutral floors: in 1972 in Statesboro, Ga. and in 2003 in Tampa, Fla.… The home team has won seven of the eight Sun Belt meetings, and the Jaguars are 5-1 overall in Mobile.

OPENING TIP
South Alabama continues to be one of the top defensive teams in the Sun Belt, ranking third in scoring defense (65.7 ppg), first in field goal defense (.399) and second in 3-point defense (.298). The team's 3-point defense is 21st in Division I.

That defense will be tested by a UT Arlington offense that averages 78.0 ppg on the season, including 81.0 in its last two games. The Mavericks rank second in the conference in field goal percentage (.462) and third in 3-point percentage (.357).

Texas State's .452 shooting percentage Thursday was the highest allowed by the Jags since Dec. 2 at FIU.

USA has lost 12 straight road games in the state of Texas.

The Jaguars are 8-2 in 2017-18 when leading at halftime, and 0-5 when trailing.

South Alabama gave up 15 offensive rebounds Thursday to Texas State, leading to a season-high 19 second-chance points. The team's .583 defensive rebounding percentage was a new season low. The Jags have allowed 15.5 offensive rebounds in their last two games.

The Jags have made at least seven 3-pointers in eight consecutive games, and are currently fifth in the SBC with 8.5 per game. The team is averaging 9.8 triples in their last five outings.

UT Arlington is second in the Sun Belt forcing 16.3 turnovers per contest and fifth in turnover margin at plus-1.0. South Alabama is last in the league in turnovers (15.9 pg) and turnover margin (-2.40). The Jags had 15 turnovers Thursday, but only three after halftime.

USA is 8-0 when holding the opponent to under 70 points this season.

South Alabama has had a player score at least 25 points in each of the last four games.

Josh Ajayi is the most recent Jaguar to hit the 25-point plateau after shooting 7 for 10 from the floor, 3 for 5 from 3-point land, and 8 for 9 from the foul line. The three treys tied his career high, and the 25 points is a new season high.

Rodrick Sikes scored 18 points at Texas State, breaking a streak of three straight games with 27 or more. The reigning Sun Belt Player of the Week has hit double-digit points 14 games in a row, and is averaging 27.5 points in his last four games.

Nick Davis scored nine points Thursday for the second time in three games, and grabbed seven rebounds for the third consecutive outing. He is averaging 8.7 points and shooting 12 for 19 (63.2%) from the floor in his last three games.

Kevin Hervey leads the Sun Belt in scoring (21.5 ppg) and is tied for second in rebounding (8.7 rpg). In five career games against South Alabama, he is averaging 16.6 points and 9.8 rebounds. In the last two years, he is averaging 21.0 points and 10.3 rebounds.

PREVIEWING SATURDAY
Head coach Matthew Graves on UT Arlington
On playing at UT Arlington on a short turnaround: "On a one-day prep, you have to be extremely focused and locked in to the gameplan of what you're going to do. It's about your players feeling good with the travel in between games and getting in at 2:30 in the morning. You have to make sure you have the appropriate prep time versus rest time, and at the end of the day, you have to go out and play really hard."

On not making turnovers a key part in the game: "I think we've got to continue playing with confidence and building on fundamental basketball. Last night in the first half, we didn't do a good job with our footwork, catching the ball with two hands and making strong, sound decisions, and in the second half, we did. It goes back to being locked in, focused, and having the right mindset. It's no different when we play Saturday. They're going to play different defenses and come at us in a different way than what Texas State did, but it still does back to basic, fundamental basketball."

On UT Arlington: "They're extremely talented and have eight seniors on their roster. They've had a lot of opportunities to play together and have been in a lot of games. You're going to have to play a full 40 minutes on the road if you expect to win. They're very explosive offensively, especially in transition, and they have two guys that are first-team all-Sun Belt performers."

On Kevin Hervey: "I think with Hervey, you have to figure out how you want to guard him. Do you put a smaller guy on him and pressure him on the perimeter, or put some size and length on him because he has the ability to post? His versatility makes him extremely difficult to defend. Then, when you have a dynamic point guard like Erick Neal, it just adds another element to that because of his ability to make plays for himself and shoot the ball, but get others involved as well. It's really a two-headed problem there."

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—