Game 1 • South Alabama Jaguars (0-0) at #11/12 Auburn Tigers (0-0)
November 6, 2018 • 8 p.m. • Auburn Arena (9,121) • Auburn, Ala.

THE COACHES
South Alabama
Richie Riley (Eastern Kentucky, 2005)
Record at USA: 0-0 (1st year)
Overall Record: 35-28 (3rd year)
Record vs. Auburn: 0-0

Auburn
Bruce Pearl (Boston College, 1982)
Record at AU: 70-62 (5th year)
Overall Record: 532-207 (24th year)

LAST GAME
South Alabama held Tuskegee to 30.2 percent shooting from the floor in a 63-40 exhibition win. Auburn defeated Lincoln Memorial 76-62 on Friday.

NEXT GAME
The Jaguars open a four-game homestand Sunday against Huntingdon. The Tigers host Washington on Friday.

ON THE AIR
TV: SEC Network; Mike Morgan (pxp), Andy Kennedy (color)
Radio: 99.5 FM The Jag; JT Crabtree (pxp)
On the web: 995thejag.com/listen (audio)

RANKINGS (Computer rankings through end of 2017-18 season)
USA: #271 RPI, #232 Sagarin
AU: #11 AP, #12 Coaches, #16 RPI, #31 Sagarin

THE SERIES
Auburn leads 5-4.

Current winning streak: Auburn, 2 wins
USA's last win in series: 68-66 (12/1/00)
Last meeting: Auburn 82, South Alabama 71 (12/6/06) in Auburn
USA's last win at Auburn Arena: N/A
USA's last win on the road: 68-66 (12/1/00)
AU's last win at Auburn Arena: N/A
AU's last win in Auburn: 82-71 (12/6/06)
USA's record on the road: 2-3
USA's road streak: Lost 2
USA's longest winning / losing streak in series: 2 / 2

Notes: The two schools have met just once since the 2001-02 season… An Auburn win would give the Tigers a three-game win streak for the first time… South Alabama won three of the first four meetings, with two wins, Dec. 9, 1983 and Dec. 21, 1991, coming by 20 points or more… The Tigers' last visit to Mobile was in the 1995-96 season.

OPENING TIP
South Alabama is 34-16 in season openers and 11-39 in road openers in its 50-year history. The Jaguars are 2-2 the last four times they've opened a season on the road, with wins at No. 25/24 Florida State in 2012-13 and at UNLV in 2016-17.

The last time USA opened a season against Auburn, the Jags lost 120-67 on Nov. 27, 1987 in Birmingham.

The Jaguars are 3-5 against in-state Division I non-conference opponents since 2006-07.

South Alabama is 14-45 all time against current members of the SEC. Since defeating Arkansas and No. 18 Florida in 2009-10, USA is 1-6 vs. the SEC, with an overtime win at LSU in 2011-12.

USA is 3-5 in its last eight games against ranked opponents dating back to the 2005-06 season. Tuesday's game will be its first against a ranked school since Nov. 28, 2014 at No. 17/20 Miami (L 87-75).

The Jaguars have more wins against Auburn (4) than any other SEC school.

Last season, USA posted the third-best field-goal percentage defense (.407) and 3-point percentage defense (.305) in school history.

In the Sun Belt, South Alabama led the conference in 3-point defense and ranked third in field goal defense and fourth in scoring defense (69.3). Nationally, the team finished sixth in 3-point defense and 22nd in field goal defense.

On the other end of the floor, the Jags attempted the most 3-pointers (779) in school history and made the third most (252).

Rodrick Sikes, who was named Second Team Preseason all-Sun Belt, set a new school record last season with five 30-point performances. Three of those came against league competition.

Included in those five 30-point games was a career-high 38-point outing at ULM, the second-most by a Sun Belt student-athlete in 2017-18.

In league games only, Sikes placed second with 20.2 ppg.

Sikes' 597 points are tied for sixth in school history, and his 88 3-pointers and 153 made free throws are fifth. His scoring average of 18.7 is 19th.

Among all South Alabama juniors, Sikes ranked second in 3s, third in free throws made and tied for third in points.

Sikes earned Second Team all-Sun Belt honors at the end of the season.

Josh Ajayi also earned preseason all-conference honors after being voted to the third team.

Ajayi was the team's leading rebounder (6.7 rpg) a season ago and ranked ninth in the Sun Belt in league games only (7.1 rpg).

Ajayi recorded a team-best six double-doubles and grabbed 10 or more in a game seven times. He set a new career high with 14 at ULM then tied that a few weeks later at Appalachian State.

Trhae Mitchell led the team last year with 45 blocks, the third-highest total by a sophomore in school history. He was third in the league in blocks per game (1.4).

PREVIEWING TUESDAY
Head coach Richie Riley on Auburn
On officially starting the season: "I'm excited to get started. With the new rules, we get a lot of practices. It used to be Oct. 15 and now we get started earlier. We needed that time to improve and they needed that time to get accustomed to how we do things, so I'm excited to get out there for a real game. We got a lot out of our two exhibition games – the one here and the closed-door – and learned a lot about our team. I'm excited to go play somebody else, even though it's the No. 11 team in the country at their place opening night. It'll be a tall task but I'm excited to see how our guys respond. We're going into the game ready to compete."

On his takeaway from the exhibition: "Our lack of focus and not having that edge to us to really go finish someone off. I know we won by 23 points, which is a pretty large margin of victory, but in my opinion, it should have been more. That's not taking anything away from Tuskegee, but we had opportunities when we got the game to 32 to extend our lead, and instead we became disinterested. You can't do that, not if you're going to be a really good team. You have to maintain your focus and operate at your highest level for 40 minutes. I don't think we did that; I think we operated at a high level for about 20-25 minutes. We certainly can't do that on Tuesday against Auburn. You have to put together a whole 40 minutes of operating at a high level."

On Auburn: "They're really good all the way around. They have great depth and talent, and have recruited really well. Bruce Pearl is one of the best coaches in the country. He's not only a coach but a program builder. He took them from where they were when he inherited the job, which was not a consistent NCAA Tournament team, to where they're expected to go to the Sweet 16 and beyond. Their size is something we don't see a lot in this league. They have two outstanding guards that make up what I think is a top-five backcourt in America in Jared Harper and Bryce Brown. Brown made over 100 3s last year at 38 percent and Jared Harper is their catalyst. He can do a lot and gets other guys great shots, and can score. We're excited. We go into every game expecting to win because we've worked hard. We feel like we work as hard if not harder than anyone in the country. We feel like we do a good job of preparing, so we go into every game expecting to play our best and be there at the end with a chance to win the game."

On the atmosphere: "It's going to be an incredible atmosphere because that's what Pearl does; he builds programs. It'll be a sellout up there – they're preseason No. 11 in the country – and the atmosphere is something we're trying to prepare our guys for the best we can. Obviously we can't bring in 10,000 people to watch us practice, but we're trying to prepare them for that because in these games, it's the biggest obstacle. You come in and the environment overwhelms you. We're trying to get our guys to block that out and just focus on playing the game; don't let that affect you or have a part in beating you."

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).

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