Game 6 • South Alabama Jaguars (3-2) at Texas A&M Aggies (1-4)
November 23, 2018 • 6:30 p.m. • Reed Arena (12,989) • College Station, Texas

THE COACHES
South Alabama
Richie Riley (Eastern Kentucky, 2005)
Record at USA: 3-2 (1st year)
Overall Record: 38-30 (3rd year)
Record vs. Texas A&M: 0-0

Texas A&M
Billy Kennedy (Southeastern Louisiana, 1986)
Record at A&M: 138-102 (8th year)
Overall Record: 349-281 (21st year)

LAST GAME
South Alabama used 13 3-pointers to defeat Southeast Missouri 79-58. Texas A&M fell 71-67 to Washington in Vancouver.

NEXT GAME
The Jaguars go to Southern Miss on Wednesday. The Aggies host Northwestern State on Dec. 3.

ON THE AIR
Radio: 99.5 FM The Jag; Steve Goldberg (pxp)
On the web: 995thejag.com/listen (audio); SEC Network+ (video); Will Johnson (pxp), Tap Bentz (color)

RANKINGS (through Nov. 20)
USA: #252 RPI, #260 Sagarin
A&M: #178 RPI, #112 Sagarin

THE SERIES
A&M leads 2-1.

Current winning streak: Texas A&M, 2 wins
USA's last win in series: 70-68 (12/29/90) in Kansas City, Mo.
Last meeting: Texas A&M 76, South Alabama 61 (1/3/94)
USA's last win at Reed Arena: N/A
USA's last win in College Station: N/A
A&M's last win at home: 85-77 (12/10/92)
USA's record in College Station: 0-1
USA's road streak: Lost 1
USA's longest winning / losing streak in series: 1 / 2

Notes: The two schools have faced each other on their respective home courts and once at a neutral site… South Alabama's one win came in 1990-91 at the BMA Holiday Classic in Kansas City, Mo. … The Aggies swept a home-and-home series in 1992-93 and 1993-94.

OPENING TIP
South Alabama has committed just 17 turnovers in its last two games, its lowest in back-to-back outings since recording 16 to conclude the 2013-14 season. The last time the Jaguars had consecutive games with single-digit turnovers were the first two games of the 2016-17 campaign.

The Jaguars' 19-8 assist/turnover ratio Monday is a season high and ties the best against a DI opponent since Feb. 14, 2009.

USA has lost 13 straight road games in the state of Texas since a win at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in 2011-12.

In three wins, South Alabama is outscoring its opponent by an average of 23.3 points, with all wins coming by at least 19 points. Its two losses have been by 33.0 points. Every game this season has been decided by at least 19 points.

The Jaguars have a minus-27 rebounding margin in their last two games, and lost the rebounding battle 46-32 Monday after giving up 16 offensive rebounds.

South Alabama's 13 treys against Southeast Missouri are a new season high and the most by the program in a regulation game since hitting 13 at Texas on Nov. 12, 2013.

Rodrick Sikes (6) and Jordan Andrews (5) combined for 11 treys in 23 attempts. Both were season highs and one short of their respective career best.

Sikes poured in 30 points Monday, eclipsing the total from his previous three games combined, where he was held to single-digit points for the first time in his South Alabama career. Sikes converted 10 of 22 from the floor and 6 of 16 from distance for his sixth 30-point performance in 37 games at USA.

Sikes ranks second in the league in 3s per game at 3.2, and Andrews is tied for sixth at 2.4.
Andrews' 15 points are his most against a Division I opponent since putting up 19 on Georgia State on Dec. 29, 2017. He is shooting 12 for 23 (52.2%) from distance on the season and averaging 9.6 ppg.

Herb McGee set a new personal best with 11 assists Monday and had just one turnover for a plus-10 assist/turnover ratio. Both marks are the best for a USA player since 2007-08.

McGee's 11 assists tops Trhae Mitchell's 10-assist performance against Huntingdon on Nov. 11. The last time South Alabama had two different players with double-digit assists in the same season was 2000-01.

Mitchell has been a force on the defensive end, leading the Sun Belt with 2.6 blocks per game. He has recorded multiple rejections four times in five games, including a career-high-tying four vs. Huntingdon.

PREVIEWING FRIDAY
Head coach Richie Riley on Texas A&M
On the weekend: "It's a heckuva lot better to hit the road, especially on an 8 ½ hour drive, coming off a win than a loss. I'm excited to get back on the road with our team and see what we've learned and how much better we've gotten. The last time we were on the road in an SEC environment, we didn't handle it very well. Texas A&M is a really good team. They were hit with some injuries early. I don't know when they're getting Admon Gilder back, but he's one of the best players in the country; he's really good. They've been beat up a little bit and playing some new faces, but they're good though. They're a prototypical SEC team with their athleticism and length."

On what the SEMO win does for the team's confidence: "It was huge because when we lose around here, it's rough because I despise losing and I want our guys to feel that. It's very difficult for me to take losing. Saturday night and Sunday were rough days for our program. We had some heart-to-heart talks and watched a lot of film. I'm proud of our willingness to take the criticism from Saturday night to Sunday and come out Monday and perform like that with only eight players. They really pulled together and showed how important our team is to them. I questioned that on Saturday and Sunday, how important winning and our team was to them. They answered those questions on Monday. I was really proud of the energy, passion and emotion they played with, and more than anything, the togetherness. You could see the energy on the bench; everybody was together. For the first time all year, I can say that we were 100 percent together. We have to continue to build on that; it can't be an every third-game thing. At all times, we have to have that component with our team. We took a major stride in that area."

On Texas A&M: "They've seen a lot of zone. UC Irvine played almost all zone so we've seen them against zone a lot. We had to go back and watch some film from last year to see some of the things they like to do against man-to-man. They have guards with incredible athleticism, whether it's T.J. Starks or Jay Jay Chandler, and they have a lot of speed in the open court. Brandon Mahan had a huge game against Minnesota, so he's starting to come along. They're front court guys have length. When I was at Clemson, I saw that length every night in the ACC and it's just different. We have to make sure that we understand that. We had a lot of shots blocked against Jacksonville so we have to understand we're going to get in the paint and see length. If you take bad shots against length, it turns into fast breaks on the other end. We have to limit Texas A&M's transition points, limit our turnovers, and anytime you're on the road against a high-level team, you have to take advantage of your opportunities. When we get 2-on-1 in transition, we have to finish those. When we get open 3s, we have to have the confidence to step up and make those. We made some big 3s against Southeast Missouri and we have to make those on the road."

For more information about South Alabama athletics, check back with www.usajaguars.com, and follow the Jaguars at www.twitter.com/WeAreSouth_JAGS. Season tickets for all Jaguar athletic events can be purchased by calling (251) 461-1USA (1872).

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