Game 27 • UT Arlington Mavericks (13-15, 9-6) at South Alabama Jaguars (13-14, 6-8)
February 28, 2019 • 7 p.m. • Mitchell Center (5,520) • Mobile, Ala.

THE COACHES
South Alabama
Richie Riley (Eastern Kentucky, 2005)
Record at USA: 13-14 (1st year)
Overall Record: 48-42 (3rd year)
Record vs. UTA: 0-0

UT Arlington
Chris Ogden (Texas, 2004)
Record at UTA: 13-15 (1st year)
Overall Record: Same

LAST GAME
South Alabama shut down Troy in the second half in a 68-52 road victory. UT Arlington outlasted ULM 91-86 in double overtime.

NEXT GAME
The Jaguars close out their home schedule Saturday vs. Texas State. The Mavericks travel to Troy.

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 Feb. 26)
USA: #239 NET, #207 Sagarin
UTA: #184 NET, #160 Sagarin

THE SERIES
USA leads 8-6.

Current winning streak: UT Arlington, 4 wins
USA's last win in series: 88-85 OT (1/16/16)
Last meeting: UT Arlington 91, South Alabama 67 (1/6/18)
UTA's last win at the Mitchell Center: 89-83 (1/16/17)
USA's last win at the Mitchell Center: 88-85 OT (1/16/16)
USA's record at home: 5-1
USA's home streak: Lost 1
USA's longest winning / losing streak in series: 5 / 4

Notes: Before UT Arlington entered the Sun Belt in 2013-14, the last game between the two schools was in 2003 and the one prior to that was in 1981… Nine of the 14 meetings have been decided by eight points or fewer… The Mavericks' last visit to Mobile prior to the 2013-14 season was for the 1981 NIT, a 74-71 Jaguar victory… USA and UTA have met twice on neutral floors: in 1972 in Statesboro, Ga., and in 2003 in Tampa, Fla.… The home team has won eight of the nine Sun Belt meetings, and the Jaguars are 5-1 overall in Mobile.

OPENING TIP
Thursday will be the only regular-season meeting with UT Arlington this season. The Mavericks lead the series 6-3 since joining the Sun Belt in 2013-14 and have won four straight. The four-game win streak is UTA's longest against USA and the Mavs broke a five-game road skid in their last visit to Mobile in 2016-17.

A victory would give South Alabama its most home wins since 2007-08 when it went 17-1.

The Jags' 52 points allowed last week at Troy are the second-fewest allowed this season and fewest by a Division I opponent. The Trojans' 22 first-half points tied a season low.

South Alabama's five 3-pointers at Troy gave the team 226 on the season, which is fifth in school history.

Last week's win over Troy was just the Jaguars' second this season when scoring fewer than 70 points. The team is 2-10 when scoring 69 or fewer and 11-4 when hitting the 70-point mark.

Rodrick Sikes came off the bench to score 11 points — all in the second half — on three 3-pointers at Troy. He went 3 for 5 from distance to move into fifth at USA in career 3-point attempts (432). He needs two triples to tie Carlos Smith (2003-07) for sixth with 153.

Sikes enters the weekend with 930 career points, tied for 20th in school history.

John Pettway reached double-digit points vs. Troy — his sixth game with at least 10 points, all in the last nine contests — with 10 and had three steals. His three steals led the team for the 10th time and was his 13th multi-theft game this season. Pettway is averaging 11.1 points and 2.2 steals while shooting 66.1 percent from the floor in his last nine games.

Trhae Mitchell recorded his seventh double-double of the year Saturday with 16 points and a career-best 14 rebounds. The 14 boards — with team-high 12 on the defensive end — are the second most by a Jaguar this season, and his eighth double-digit rebound game of the year. He is averaging 7.6 rebounds per game overall, but 9.3 in league games, which ranks second in the SBC.

Mitchell also dished out a game-high 5 assists at Troy, improving his season average to 3.8, sixth in the Sun Belt.

Josh Ajayi posted a team-high 18 points on 7-for-11 shooting from the floor vs. Troy. The seven field goals gave him 406 in his career to rank 14th at South Alabama.

Ajayi leads the Sun Belt and is 43rd in the nation in field-goal percentage (.558).

In three career games vs. UTA, Ajayi is averaging 11.3 points and 4.3 rebounds. He was held to 7 points on 2-for-8 shooting in the last meeting in Arlington.
South Alabama has shot 32 percent or less from 3-point land three times in its last four games. UTA ranks 20th in Division I in 3-point defense (.302).

QUOTES
Head coach Richie Riley on UT Arlington
On Thursday's game: "We're approaching the rest of the season, at the start of the Troy game, as a five-game playoff. We won game 1 and we have four games left – two at home and two on the road. We've got to find a way to hold on. Everybody is fighting for not only seeding but to be part of the Sun Belt Tournament. Two teams aren't going to make it and it's a tight race down the stretch. Pretty much every team outside of three are involved in it. We have to find a way to keep climbing up the standings and the only way to do that is win."

On UT Arlington: "They're a really good team and one of the best in our league. They played the toughest non-conference schedule of any team in our conference. That's why their record wasn't good early, but in league play they've been really good – they're currently in fourth place. They have a new coach, like me. Coach (Chris) Ogden has done a really good job. To me, they're the best defensive team in our league. This weekend we'll play the two most sound defensive teams in our league and it's going to be a test for us. They're really physical and play extremely hard. They come and compete every single night, so we have to raise our level to be ready to go from the tip. This has to be a 40-minute effort if we're going to win the game."

On UTA's defense: "I think we'll have a good offensive plan – I think we usually do. A lot of it comes down to being ball-tough. They're really physical on the ball and that's why their 3-point defense is so good, because of how hard they guard the ball. They really get into you, a lot of active hands and they bother you with their physicality. We've got to embrace that – we haven't always embraced that this season. We struggled with some teams that guard like that. With our growth, hopefully with four games left, hopefully the things we've seen have prepared us to play against a defense like we'll see on Thursday."

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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