Game 9 • South Alabama Jaguars (4-4) at New Orleans Privateers (3-3)
December 5, 2018 • 7 p.m. • Lakefront Arena (8,933) • New Orleans, La.

THE COACHES
South Alabama
Richie Riley (Eastern Kentucky, 2005)
Record at USA: 4-4 (1st year)
Overall Record: 39-32 (3rd year)
Record vs. New Orleans: 2-2

New Orleans
Mark Slessinger (Aurora, 1995)
Record at UNO: 96-118 (8th year)
Overall Record: 121-141 (10th year)

LAST GAME
South Alabama held off Florida A&M 66-57 on Saturday. New Orleans fell in overtime 77-73 to Louisiana.

NEXT GAME
The Jaguars open a six-game homestand Saturday against Tulane. The Privateers to go Tulsa on Dec. 13.

ON THE AIR
Radio: 99.5 FM The Jag; J.T. Crabtree (pxp)
On the web: 995thejag.com/listen (audio); UNO Showcase (video)

RANKINGS (through Dec. 3)
USA: #294 NET, #245 Sagarin
UNO: #265 NET, #269 Sagarin

THE SERIES
USA leads 29-23.

Current winning streak: South Alabama, 11
UNO's last win in series: 71-51 (1/8/05)
Last meeting: South Alabama 55, New Orleans 52 (11/26/17)
USA's last win at Lakefront Arena: 59-51 (2/4/10)
UNO's last win at Lakefront Arena: 71-51 (1/8/05)
USA's record at the Lakefront Arena: 5-13
USA's record in New Orleans: 10-14
USA's road streak: Won 4
USA's longest winning / losing streak in series: 11 / 5

Notes: South Alabama's 11-game win streak is the third longest active run against any opponent... Prior to the streak, New Orleans won eight out of nine, including two in overtime... USA eliminated UNO in the Sun Belt Tournament in 2008 and 2009... The series dates back to 1978... The two schools met last season as non-conference opponents for the first time since 1990.

OPENING TIP
New Orleans is the second former Sun Belt school that South Alabama will face this season (Jacksonville).The two schools last met in New Orleans on Feb. 4, 2010.

USA has won 11 straight in the series, the school's third-longest active win streak, and longest against a Division I opponent. The Jags have won 15 in a row vs. Spring Hill and 12 straight vs. West Florida.

The Jaguars are looking for their first road win of the season Wednesday. The team is 0-3 this season and 1-19 in its last 20 true road games.

Saturday's 66-57 victory over Florida A&M was South Alabama's first when scoring fewer than 70 points since a 60-57 win over Coastal Carolina on Jan. 18, 2018, a span of eight games. The Jags are 3-0 this season when scoring 70 or more.

Since allowing their first two opponents to convert 45.6 percent from 3-point land, the Jaguars are permitting their last six opponents to shoot just 21.1 percent (19-90) from long distance, which includes Florida A&M's 1-for-11 (9.1%) effort on Saturday.

In the second half of South Alabama's last two games, they are holding the opposition to 32.1 percent shooting overall and 13.3 percent from distance.

The Jaguars have moved up to third in the Sun Belt in 3-point defense (.306) and fourth in field-goal defense (.429).

After averaging 9.7 turnovers in a three-game span earlier this month, the Jags are averaging 18.0 in their last two outings, including 19 on Saturday, their second-most of the season.

South Alabama won the rebounding battle Saturday for the first time since Nov. 16, but allowed a season-high-tying 19 offensive rebounds.

USA is 4-0 when leading at halftime and when outshooting its opponent and winless when it does not.

Josh Ajayi recorded his second double-double of the season vs. FAMU with 10 points and a career-high 15 rebounds. The 15 boards are the most by a Jaguar since Augustine Rubit had 15 on Feb. 23, 2013.

Kory Holden followed up his 28-point effort against Southern Miss with 12 against Florida A&M. Seven of his 12 points came from the free-throw line and he hit a key 3-pointer in the final minute.

R.J. Kelly missed all three field-goal attempts Saturday but still recorded a career-best four steals, the most by a USA player this season, and seven rebounds.

Trhae Mitchell blocked a pair of shots Saturday, giving him six multi-block performances in eight games this season. He is second in the league with 2.4 per contest.

Rodrick Sikes rejected a pair of shots to tie his personal best and added a team-high 18 points. His 7-for-11 shooting from the floor is a season best. In his last four games, Sikes is averaging 20.8 points.

PREVIEWING WEDNESDAY
Head coach Richie Riley on New Orleans
On trying to get a road win: "We're going to have to play better on this road trip than we did a few nights ago against Florida A&M. We're obviously going to need to play better on the road than we have all season long. To win on the road, it takes a tremendous amount of toughness, resilience and focus, and those are things that our ball club is struggling with right now. We've got to get better at it because we've got this non-conference road game at New Orleans Wednesday night, and obviously the nine road games in Sun Belt play. We've got to find a way to win on the road; we've got 10 opportunities and we've got to find a way to do those things I just mentioned to give us a chance to win."

On the defensive improvements: "We have seen some improvement defensively. We've played a smaller lineup – I think that's helped us a little bit – and mixed in different lineups. Which shown more urgency defensively, which is important. The matchups have been better, honestly. We matched up pretty good with Southern Miss, even though we got down 17-1 early, and we matched with Florida A&M even better. Our defense will be even better if we can keep guys off the glass. Nineteen offensive rebounds for Florida A&M are way too many. We have to rebound the ball better. If we can get the stops we're getting, we're doing a good job right now of making guys miss the first shot; we have to box out and rebound the ball."

On New Orleans: "(Head coach Mark) Slessinger does a great job with his team. They're unique in how they play. They attempt the least amount of 3s in the country, pretty much year in and year out. They play 16 feet and in as good as anybody. They keep it really tight and they're extremely physical. They're an execution-based team; they screen really well and they bring it to you. When you don't have a lot of rim protection like this team, it's a chore to stop those guys because they're getting the ball inside one way or the other. We had some battles with them the last two years. They won the league my first two years at Nicholls and we had two competitive games, then we beat them last year twice. It's going to be a physical, knockdown, drag-out battle because that's what they do. They just took Louisiana to overtime at their place and had opportunities to win the game, so they're good. It's going to be a heckuva road game for us. It's where the Sun Belt Tournament is going to be, so it gives us an opportunity to play on that court, which I like. So we're excited to get back on the road and see how much we've grown since the Texas A&M game."

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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