Game 22 • Troy Trojans (10-10, 3-5) at South Alabama Jaguars (10-11, 3-5)
February 2, 2019 • 5 p.m. • Mitchell Center (5,520) • Mobile, Ala.

THE COACHES
South Alabama
Richie Riley (Eastern Kentucky, 2005)
Record at USA: 10-11 (1st year)
Overall Record: 45-39 (3rd year)
Record vs. Troy: 0-0

Troy
Phil Cunningham (Campbellsville, 1990)
Record at Troy: 78-103 (5th year)
Overall Record: Same

LAST GAME
South Alabama picked up its first road win of the season at ULM, winning 78-72. Troy lost 86-81 at Louisiana.

NEXT GAME
The Jaguars continue their homestand Thursday against Arkansas State. The Trojans host Little Rock.

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 (through Jan. 30)
USA: #263 NET, #223 Sagarin
Troy: #199 NET, #200 Sagarin

THE SERIES
USA leads 21-11.

Current winning streak: Troy, 3 wins
USA's last win in series: 76-71 (2/4/17)
Last meeting: Troy 69, South Alabama 62 (3/7/18) in New Orleans
USA's last win at the Mitchell Center: 76-75 (1/2/17)
Troy's last win at Mitchell Center: 79-64 (1/13/18)
USA's record at Mitchell Center: 8-5
USA's home streak: Lost 1
USA's longest winning / losing streak in series: 5 / 3

Notes: Troy has won three straight for the first time... Despite the in-state rivals being separated by about 170 miles, the two schools have met just 32 times; all but two of the meetings came after Troy joined the Sun Belt in 2005... South Alabama won the two pre-Sun Belt clashes in 1993 and 1995... The Jaguars won the first five games in the series and seven of the first eight... A buzzer-beating shot gave USA a 69-67 victory in Mobile on Jan. 16, 2010... Freddie Goldstein set a new school record with nine 3-pointers in the 2011- 12 season at Troy... The series is tied 2-2 in games played at the Sun Belt Tournament… Troy snapped a five-game skid in 2013-14 in Troy and a four-game slide in 2015-16 in Mobile.

OPENING TIP
A win Saturday would be South Alabama's 200th at the Mitchell Center. The Jaguars are 199-93 in 20 seasons in their home arena. Eight of those wins have come against Troy (8-5).

Troy's current three-game win streak in the series is a first for the Trojans. South Alabama has won three or more against the Trojans three times, including five straight twice.

USA has had a 20-point scorer in each of its last 13 games, and in 19 of 21 games this season. Trhae Mitchell (7), Josh Ajayi (6) and Rodrick Sikes (6) have combined for 19 of the team's 21 games with 20 points or more.

The Jaguars outscored ULM 46-38 in the second half last Saturday thanks to a .593 shooting percentage in the second half, the team's second-highest against a Division I opponent all season. John Pettway (5 for 6) and Ajayi (3 for 4) combined to shoot 8 for 10 and score 21 points.

USA's .527 shooting percentage for the game is its best in league play this season.

The Jags have converted 50 percent or better from the floor in each of their last three outings. Earlier this season, they put together a streak of five games in a row, the program's longest since 1990-91, but followed that up with a run of four sub-50 percent outings.

South Alabama is averaging 43.3 points in the paint in its previous three games. This comes on the heels of a four-game stretch where the team averaged 28.5 points in the paint, with a low of 24 at Little Rock. The Jags' 48 paint points vs. Georgia Southern tied their second-most of the season and highest total against a DI school.

Mitchell was named co-player of the week by the Sun Belt Conference on Monday. He averaged 27.0 points and 9.5 rebounds in games at Louisiana and ULM.

Mitchell led all scorers Saturday with 23 points for his third straight game with 20 points or more. In his last three outings, he is averaging 25.3 points and 10.0 rebounds, and has a .516 shooting percentage.

In Sun Belt games, Mitchell is averaging 19.5 points (5th), 9.0 rebounds (2nd), 1.9 blocks (2nd) and shooting 51.2 percent (4th).

Mitchell blocked a pair of shots at ULM to give him 113 in his career, fifth best in USA history. He one away from Brandon Davis in fourth.

Pettway set a new career scoring high last Saturday with 16 points — 12 in the second half — on 7-of-9 shooting. In his last three games, he is averaging 14.7 points and shooting 81.8 percent from the field. He has scored at least 14 points in his last three outings.

Josh Ajayi just missed a 20-point outing vs. ULM with 19 points on 6-for-10 shooting. He made all seven free-throw attempts, the best performance at the line by a Jaguar this season.

Ajayi, who has converted less than 50 percent from the floor just once in his last 13 games (3-7 vs. CCU), leads the Sun Belt at 57.4 percent this season.

Troy's Jordon Varnado is the conference's leading scorer at 21.7 ppg. In league games, he is putting up 29.4 ppg, with three 30-point outings, including a season-best 33 at Louisiana on Saturday.

In seven career games vs. South Alabama, Varnado is averaging 13.1 ppg, but is averaging 19.5 in the last two games and is coming a 22-point outing in the Sun Belt Tournament.

PREVIEWING SATURDAY
Head coach Richie Riley on Troy
On playing USA's rival: "Since I've been here, I've had a great appreciation for the rivalry with Troy. Our fan base is very passionate about it and it's something that everybody is really excited about. This is my first time getting to experience it. I've known Phil (Cunningham) for a long time. I was actually his ballboy at Sue Bennett College when I was like 8 years old and he was the head coach in my hometown, which is a unique story. It's an exciting game. These rivalries are really fun to be a part of. Our kids are excited, especially the ones from Alabama; they understand a little better than the ones from other places. It's a big-time game and they have a really good team. We're anticipating a great atmosphere and we're excited to get out there."

On Jordon Varnado: "He's really good. It feels like every night we're playing someone that averages 30 points (in conference play) – we played JaKeenan Gant last weekend. Varnado is so versatile. He's really shooting it well from '3' – he's shooting over 40 percent – and he's great scoring inside. His skillset is really good at 6-6, 235 and he's strong and physical. But his versatility is what makes him one of the best players in our league. We have to do a good job of keeping him out of the post. If we allow him to catch it in the post, he'll foul every one of our guys out; his skill level is that good. We have to limit his touches and find a way to keep him off the backboard; he's a great rebounder. This is a rivalry game so he'll come in ready to go. "

On Troy: "The first time I saw them this year was when they played UAB. I just watched them and I was so impressed with their athleticism. Obviously they have two of the best post players in the league with Varnado and Alex Hicks, but their guard play is good. B.J. Miller is a nice player and Charles Norman is shooting the ball at a high level. They're really good and well coached. They do a lot of unique things offensively and it makes them hard to guard. Their size up front – you don't see two big kids like that a lot at the mid-major level that can play like they can. They combine for almost 34 points and 20 rebounds a night. They're a load inside and we're obviously shorthanded inside right now; we don't have a lot of depth. We'll see if we can guard them without getting in foul trouble because when we don't have (Josh) Ajayi out there, we're a different team."

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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