Game 5 • Spring Hill Badgers (1-3) at South Alabama Jaguars (2-2)
November 19, 2019 • 7 p.m. • Mitchell Center (5,520) • Mobile, Ala.

THE COACHES
South Alabama
Richie Riley (Eastern Kentucky, 2005)
Record at USA: 19-19 (2nd year)
Overall Record: 54-47 (4th year)
Record vs. Spring Hill: 2-0

Spring Hill
Craig Kennedy (Winnipeg, 1990)
Record at SHC: 8-23 (2nd year)
Overall Record: Same

LAST GAME
South Alabama fell behind early at Chattanooga on Friday and couldn't catch up, losing 90-72. Spring Hill sprinted past Puerto Rico-Mayaguez 100-86.

NEXT GAME
The Jaguars will participate in the Gulf Coast Showcase next week, starting with Northeastern on Monday. The Badgers go to Albany State on Saturday.

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

RANKINGS (RPI ratings through Nov. 17)
USA: #257 RPI, #164 Sagarin
SHC: N/A

THE SERIES
USA leads 20-3.

Current streak: USA, 15 wins
Last meeting: USA 71, Spring Hill 50 (12/19/16)
USA's last win at Mitchell Center: 71-50 (12/19/16)
SHC's last win at Mitchell Center: None
SHC's last win at South Alabama: 56-53 (2/28/72)
USA's record at Mitchell Center: 9-0
USA's record at home: 19-1
USA's home streak: Won 14
USA's longest winning / losing streak in series: 15 / 2
Notes: The two schools have played at South Alabama 20 times in 23 meetings… After playing in every season from 1968-1974 and in 1976-77 and 1977-78, the two teams didn't play for almost 16 years until Jan. 24, 2004… The Jags and Badgers met in an exhibition game prior to the 2007-08 (82-62 USA win), 2011-12 (88-64 USA win), 2012-13 (73-40 USA win) and 2017-18 (77-55 USA win) seasons.

OPENING TIP
Tuesday will mark the first regular-season meeting between the two schools since 2016-17. South Alabama's 15-game win streak against Spring Hill is its longest active run against any opponent.

Since the series resumed in 2003-04 after a 26-year hiatus, Spring Hill is averaging just 50.4 points per game and has scored no more than 56 in any contest. The Jaguars are putting up 78.8 ppg in that span, reaching the 80-point plateau five times.

USA went 21 for 24 (87.5%) from the free-throw line at Chattanooga, marking the first time since 2009-10 that the team has converted 87.5% or better from the line twice in the same season (min. 20 FTM). The Jags shot 20 for 22 in the second half alone.

Andre Fox went 8 for 10 at the stripe Friday, putting him at 22 for 25 (88.0%) for the season. He converted all nine of his free-throw attempts Nov. 9 vs. Southern Miss.

South Alabama posted a negative assist/turnover ratio (11 assists, 13 turnovers) and had an even turnover margin (13-13) Friday for the first time in 2019-20. The Jags had a plus-6 assist/turnover ratio and a plus-18 turnover margin entering the contest.

Fox scored 24 points — 16 in the second half — at Chattanooga, shooting 7 for 17 from the floor and dishing out a team-high three assists. He is averaging 23.5 points in his last two outings and has scored in double-digits all four games.

Fox ranks sixth in the Sun Belt in scoring (18.3 ppg) and is tied for fifth in free-throw percentage.

Chad Lott also saved his best for the second half Friday, tallying 14 of his 18 points after halftime. He shot 7 for 10 from the field and led all players with seven rebounds.

Lott is fourth in the Sun Belt in field-goal percentage (.600). He's converted 60% or better in three of his four games.

Herb McGee has recorded multiple steals in each of his first three games, giving him eight on the season. His steals average of 2.7 is tied for fourth in the conference.

Josh Ajayi, who came into the game ranked first in the Sun Belt in rebounding and second in field-goal percentage, was held to two points and two rebounds at Chattanooga, but he still leads the league in field-goal percentage (.656), which is 39th in Division I, and is tied for sixth in rebounding (7.8 rpg).

Trhae Mitchell extended his blocks streak to five (dating back to last season) with a rejection at Chattanooga. He leads the league and is 16th in the nation in blocks per game (3.0).

Spring Hill is averaging 85.5 points per game and hit the 100-point plateau its last time out against Puerto Rico-Mayaguez. On the other end of the floor, the Badgers are allowing 93.0 per contest, giving up at least 86 each outing.

Chase Shellman is one of four players averaging double-digit points at a team-high 15.8 per game. He also leads the team in rebounding (6.8 rpg) and field-goal percentage (.558).

Head coach Richie Riley on Spring Hill
On playing local teams: "It's really important to me as the head coach here to play Spring Hill and Mobile every year. I think it's important for the community and basketball here. We want to bring them in and play them, and Spring Hill is right down the road. Some of those kids are from Mobile. I think every program should do their best to make basketball the best it can be in their area, and I think it's a huge step forward for us to make sure that we play them every year."

On putting the last two games behind them: "We have to get better; we're not very good right now and that's as truthful as I can be. We're not a good basketball team right now. A lot has been said about our team, but we didn't earn that. We have to earn the right to be a good team. We have a lot of work to do and it has to be done every day in practice. We have to build consistency with how we do things and then our play will be better. We have a long way to go. We have a chance to be really good; we have good pieces and a good approach for the most part but we're not there yet. We have to attack it every day and we have to show improvement. "

On Spring Hill: "They play fast. They have a balanced attack; they have four guys averaging double-figures. They're scoring in the mid-80s – they can really score – but right now they're giving up a lot of points. That's how they play. Their last game they won 100-86, which is a big-scoring game, bigger than we've had this year. They'll throw different defenses at you to try to confuse you or speed you up. This is a good game for us. We need to get back to playing the way we want to play, which is fast. We're struggling right now to shoot the ball. There will be a lot of opportunities in a fast-paced game to make some shots. They'll test you with the way they push you in transition – you have to be good in transition defense and in the halfcourt because they're trying to score a lot of points. Our defense has to be a lot better."

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
 
—USA—