Game 11 • Alabama A&M Bulldogs (0-9) at South Alabama Jaguars (5-5)
December 19, 2018 • 7 p.m. • Mitchell Center (5,520) • Mobile, Ala.

THE COACHES
South Alabama
Richie Riley (Eastern Kentucky, 2005)
Record at USA: 5-5 (1st year)
Overall Record: 40-33 (3rd year)
Record vs. Alabama A&M: 0-0

Alabama A&M
Dylan Howard (UAB, 1992)
Record at AAMU: 0-9 (1st year)
Overall Record: Same

LAST GAME
South Alabama evened its record at 5-5 with an 81-60 victory over Tulane on Dec. 8. Alabama A&M ended a three-game homestand with a 77-59 loss to Samford.

NEXT GAME
The Jaguars return to action tomorrow with a home game vs. Mobile. The Bulldogs take on La Salle in Atlantic City on Friday.

ON THE AIR
Radio: 99.5 FM The Jag; J.T. Crabtree (pxp)
On the web: 995thejag.com/listen (audio); ESPN+ (video); J.D. Byars (pxp), Pat Greenwood (color)

RANKINGS (through Dec. 17)
USA: #261 NET, #223 Sagarin
AAMU: #349 NET, #352 Sagarin

THE SERIES
USA leads 3-0.

Current streak: USA, 3 wins
Last meeting: South Alabama 67, Alabama A&M 44 (12/3/11)
AAMU's last win in Mobile: None
USA's record at the Mitchell Center: 2-0
USA's record in Mobile: 3-0
USA's home streak: Won 3
USA's longest winning / losing streak in series: 3 / 0

Notes: South Alabama has won all three games against Alabama A&M by an average of 20.7 points… The first meeting came in Jag Gym during the 1998-99 season, USA's last one before moving into the Mitchell Center… The Jags played just two more games in Jag Gym before moving permanently.

OPENING TIP
South Alabama and Alabama A&M have met just three times in their history, all in Mobile, with the most recent coming in 2011. South Alabama has won all three games by at least 14 points.

USA and Mobile have just four official meetings, all since 2009. The two city schools last played in 2017.

One game after tying their season low in assists with six, the Jaguars dished out 19 — against 13 turnovers — their last time out against Tulane. R.J. Kelly set a new career high with six — against no turnovers — and Trhae Mitchell added five. The 19 helpers are tied for the most against a Division I opponent this season and tied for second overall.

The team is 3-1 this season when recording a positive assist/turnover ratio. The lone loss came at Texas A&M.

South Alabama blocked a season-low four shots vs. Tulane but still leads the Sun Belt in blocks per game (5.0). Mitchell is second individually (2.4 bpg) and Kelly is eighth (1.1).

The Tulane game marked the fourth time this season South Alabama converted double-digit 3-pointers. Rodrick Sikes posted a game high four, and Kory Holden came off the bench and made three.

USA has shot 37 percent or better from 3-point land five times in the last games, and ranks fourth in the league in 3-point percentage (.369).

Sikes bounced back from a six-point outing at New Orleans with 21 points vs. Tulane for his fourth 20-point game of the season. His scoring average of 15.8 ppg is 11th in the league, and his 3.1 treys per contest is second.

Josh Ajayi has recorded two double-doubles in his last three games after his 16-point, 10-rebound performance last week. He is averaging 10.7 rebounds in his last three games, and his season average of 8.3 ranks third in the Sun Belt.

Kelly's six assists vs. Tulane almost doubled his season total entering the game and give him 13 on the year. His nine points were his most since putting up 11 at Texas A&M, and came on 3-for-5 shooting from the floor and 2-for-4 shooting from 3-point territory.

Mitchell has blocked multiple shots in each of his last four games and six of his last seven.

Kevin Morris hit double-digits for the first time in 2018-19 against Tulane, making all four field-goal attempts for 10 points. The 10 points are the second-most against a DI school in his career.

PREVIEWING WEDNESDAY
Head coach Richie Riley on Alabama A&M
On returning after a long break: "We needed those practice days. I think anytime you can fit into your schedule a break, especially around finals for them to concentrate academically to finish as strong as they can, and for our team to get better, you do it. We needed the practice; we played a lot of games with little practice time. We needed to be able to get out there and fine tune some things and work on some things we were struggling with. I think we were able to accomplish that. We got some really good skill work in mixed in with some good practices. I think our guys are ready to get back out there and play these two games before Christmas."

On what he wanted to work on during the time off: "We've been forced in games because of lack of numbers to play some different lineups. We were able to get those lineups on the court together and practice, and put together offensive packages to use when we play with those lineups. That was really helpful for us. I think it prepared us to play with multiple lineups because you never know with foul trouble or just something we see; a lineup gets in rhythm and plays well together. It may not be a traditional lineup. Defensively, we were able to get back to competing, which I felt like we needed. It was really beneficial to get that work in and I hope it shows with our play on the court."

On Alabama A&M: "They've played a tough schedule. Obviously their record is not where they want it to be. When you're them, you have to play a lot of buy games. I went through that at Nicholls State and sometimes it's tough when you're playing almost all of your games on the road and playing a lot of high-level teams. You're doing a lot of travel and your team gets tired. I don't think their record is indicative of how good their team is. They're a better team than their record; I know I say that every game, but they really are. People don't realize this time of year in college basketball when you're forced to play a lot of buy games, a lot of teams wouldn't have a good record with their schedule. They have an interim head coach and a young staff. They're going to come in here energetic and ready to go. They've had nine days off too, so I'm sure they got some really good work in. They'll be physical defensively and play really hard. Offensively we're going to see a lot of continuity ball-screening, so we'll have to do a nice job of sticking to our principles, being disciplined and forcing them into taking some tough 2s."

On Mobile: "Mobile is a game we're going to play every year as long as Coach (Joe) Niland wants to do it. I think it's good for our community to play those games. They have a good team. They played Southern tight and played McNeese State tough. I think they had the lead with 10 minutes to go and ended up losing by 14. I'm an old NAIA guy – I was at Pikeville College and Georgetown College – so I understand how good NAIA basketball is. I don't know that the average fan understands that; they have really good players. It's going to be a challenging game. With our lack of depth, every game for us is a game 7. We're treating Mobile and Alabama A&M and whoever we play as a game 7 situation."

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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