Game Notes

Game 31 • South Alabama Jaguars (14-16, 7-10) at Georgia State Panthers (20-10, 11-6)
March 3, 2018 • 1:15 p.m. CST • GSU Sports Arena (3,854) • Atlanta, Ga.

THE COACHES
South Alabama
Matthew Graves (Butler, 1998)
Record at USA: 65-94 (5th year)
Overall Record: Same
Record vs. GSU: 2-7

Georgia State
Ron Hunter (Miami [Ohio], 1986)
Record at GSU: 143-84 (7th year)
Overall Record: 417-303 (23rd year)

LAST GAME
South Alabama fell 81-74 at Georgia Southern on Thursday. Georgia State lost for the fourth time in five games with an 83-70 home defeat to Troy.

NEXT GAME
The two teams will open Sun Belt Tournament play next week against opponents to be announced.

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

RANKINGS (Through March 1)
USA: #262 RPI, #228 Sagarin
GSU: #157 RPI, #126 Sagarin

THE SERIES
USA leads 15-12.

Current winning streak: South Alabama, 1 win
GSU's last win in series: 83-80 (1/30/17)
Last meeting: South Alabama 86, Georgia State 64 (12/29/17)
USA's last win at the GSU Sports Arena: 75-50 (1/29/82)
GSU's last win at the GSU Sports Arena: 78-77 (1/7/17)
USA's record at the GSU Sports Arena: 5-7
USA's road streak: Lost 6
USA's longest winning / losing streak in series: 10 / 6

Notes: Georgia State had a six-game winning streak in the series — its longest vs. South Alabama — snapped in the 2015-16 season in Mobile… The 2013-14 meeting in Atlanta was delayed four days due to snow… South Alabama's 10-game win streak in the series lasted from 1979 to 2003, when Georgia State won 88-56 in Atlanta… USA leads the series 9-8 in Sun Belt games… The Jags' 70-66 win in 2009-10 was their closest win vs. GSU since the first meeting (78-77) on Feb. 16, 1976; the next closest win was nine (70-61) on Jan. 7, 1980… The Panthers' last win in Mobile prior to the 2013-14 victory was in 1977… The Jags' 86-64 victory on Dec. 31 was their biggest in the series since 1982.

OPENING TIP
South Alabama is 3-1 in regular-season finales under head coach Matthew Graves.

USA hasn't won at Georgia State since February 1981, dropping six in a row. The Jaguars also lost two neutral-site games at the GSU Sports Arena in 2012-13.

Saturday will be a matchup of two of the top defenses in the nation. The Jaguars are fourth in the nation in 3-point defense (.298) and 19th in field-goal defense (.406), and the Panthers are 11th in field-goal defense (.400), 34th in blocks (4.7 bpg) and 61st in scoring defense (67.8 ppg).

Georgia Southern became the first South Alabama opponent since Troy on Feb. 3 to shoot better than 30 percent from 3-point land after converting 35.3 percent Thursday night. The Eagles went 4 for 10 from distance in the first half and 3 for 9 in the second.

After having three straight games in the series decided by a total of five points, the Jaguars enjoyed their biggest victory over the Panthers since 1982 in the first meeting this season, winning 86-64.

Rodrick Sikes recorded his 11th 20-point game of the year on Thursday with a game-high 23. The last USA player to have that many 20-point performances in a season was Augustine Rubit in 2012-13 with 15.

The Jags are 6-5 on the year and 5-3 in league games when Sikes scores 20 or more.

Sikes currently ranks 11th in USA's single-season history with 561 points, and seventh in 3-pointers with 84. If Sikes scores 12 points he'll move up to eighth, and if he has four 3-pointers, he'll move into fifth.

Saturday will be a matchup of two of the top scorers in the Sun Belt. Georgia State's D'Marcus Simonds leads the conference in both scoring overall (21.6 ppg) and in league games only (21.9 ppg). Sikes is fourth overall (18.7 ppg) and second in league games (20.4 ppg). Simonds ranks 18th in the nation in scoring average and is one of three Division I players this season to record a triple-double.

Herb McGee, who had 14 points Thursday, is averaging 11.0 points, 4.0 assists and 2.5 treys in his last four games. He is ninth in the league in assist/turnover ratio (1.2).

Joe Thompson and John Pettway both set new career highs in points against Georgia Southern. Thompson had seven points on 2-for-2 shooting from the floor, and Pettway shot 4 for 10 for nine points.

Kevin Morris, who, like Thompson, saw an increase in playing time in the second half Thursday due to an injury to Josh Ajayi, converted four of his six attempts for eight points. Morris and Thompson had three rebounds apiece.

Georgia State ranks second in the Sun Belt and 19th in the nation in turnover margin (+3.43).  GSU was plus-eight (22-14) in turnovers in the first meeting this year, but USA won the points off turnovers 22-20.

South Alabama set new season highs with a 66.7 shooting percentage in the second half, a 50.0 3-point percentage, and 54 second-half points against Georgia State on Dec. 29. The Jags shot 16 for 24 from the floor after halftime and 12 for 24 from distance.

Simonds had a team-high 27 points against the Jags in December. In two games, he is averaging 24.0 points vs. South Alabama

PREVIEWING SATURDAY
Head coach Matthew Graves on GSU
On the loss to Georgia Southern: "I thought we gave a solid effort. We had some young guys that stepped up and made some big contributions off the bench. It was good to see Kevin (Morris), Joe (Thompson) and John (Pettway) get those reps and play meaningful minutes down the stretch. Ultimately, we didn't have enough winning plays to come out with the victory against a really good Georgia Southern team."

On importance of players still competing: "Late in the season, you get teams with guys that are in a funk and they don't play as hard or compete. With the young team that we have, I'm proud that we're continuing to fight and give ourselves opportunities to win basketball games. These experiences are going to pay off down the road."

On Georgia State: "They're a team that we know will play zone. We've got to do a great job of attacking their zone like we did in December. We've got to make multiple cuts and be ready to shoot the basketball. Defensively, we've got to do a great job of defending Simonds, and close out and not let their shooters get comfortable from the perimeter."

On defending D'Marcus Simonds: "It's a team effort. We have to communicate on the ball screens and we have to do a great job of showing our hands on defense and not put him at the free-throw line."

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).

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