Game 16,17 • Georgia Southern (9-4) (3-3) at South Alabama (8-7) (2-4)
January 22-23, 2021 • 6,4 p.m. • Mitchell Center (10,000) • Mobile, Ala.

THE COACHES
South Alabama    
Richie Riley (Eastern Kentucky, 2005)
Record at USA: 45-35 (3rd year)
Overall Record: 80-63 (5th year)
Record vs. Georgia Southern: 3-3

Appalachian State
Brian Burg (Mt. Mercy, 2003)
Record at Georgia Southern: 9-6 (1st year)
Overall Record: Same

LAST GAME
South fell to Appalachian State, 83-77, splitting the series after USA's win on Friday (73-64).  Georgia Southern swept Troy, winning on Saturday by the score 63-56 after a three-point overtime victory Friday (67-64 OT).

NEXT GAME
South Alabama will go back on the road heading to Atlanta for a pair of games against Georgia State. Georgia Southern heads back to Statesboro, Ga., and will host Coastal Carolina Friday and Saturday.

ON THE AIR
Radio: Sports Talk 99.5: J.T. Crabtree (pxp) Joe McNulty (color)
Web: http://sportstalk995.iheart.com/listen (audio)
ESPN+ (Internet Streaming): J.D. Byars (pxp) Pat Greenwood (color)

RANKINGS
USA: #192 Sagarin, NET #169
Georgia Southern: #239 Sagarin, NET #147

THE SERIES
USA leads the overall series 14-8, but the teams have split the last six meetings. USA won two consecutive meetings in Statesboro for the first time since 2010 after a 30-year gap in the series. Neither team has won more than four games in a row in the series, and the squads split the meetings at the Hanner Fieldhouse earlier this month.

NOTES
Both games this weekend are sponsored by The Hampton by Hilton at Providence Park/Airport.

South plays its second home conference series and will complete this year's regular season games against Georgia Southern. The Jaguars leaped out of the gates on New Year's Day, stunning the Eagles, 88-59. GS won the Saturday contest as the Jags were unable to get the offense on track, 62-49. Both squads were swept in their respective second SBC series with USA dropping two at Coastal Carolina and Southern losing two games to Appalachian State by a combined nine points. The Eagles rebounded with a pair of wins over Troy and South split its contests with App State.

Off a 58-point performance this past weekend, Michael Flowers now ranks second in the NCAA for points scored (334), trailing Iowa's Luke Garza. Flowers also became the first 30-point scorer in a single game in 14 months, dropping 31 on the Mountaineers Friday night. The previous mark was a 30-point performance by Josh Ajayi against Southern Miss on Nov. 9, 2019.

With COVID cancellations and back-to-back scheduling, the Sun Belt has seen parity among all teams as six of the 12 Sun Belt teams sit with three wins, no teams are winless or undefeated and the highest number any squad has in the win or loss column is four.

USA also completed its non-conference slate without any changes. The nine games without changes is the most in the nation, but in a four-way tie with Louisiana Tech, Toledo and UNC Wilmington. No other Sun Belt team has more than six, and one opponent, Auburn, also made the list with eight games.

In addition to the NCAA rankings and despite the shortened non-conference schedule, Flowers could potentially shake up the single season record book at USA with a pace to make the top 10 in points, points-per-game and made three-point baskets.

Kayo Goncalves is coming off the most accurate three-pointing shooting performance a Jaguar has had this year, hitting 5-of-6 three-pointers on Sunday. Still trailing Flowers by 2.5 percentage points in shooting percentage, both players rank in the top 30 for three-point percentage and made three-point shots. Goncalves ranks at 29th (percentage) and 22nd (made) while Flowers checks in at 17th (percentage) and fourth (made).

Adding another accolade likened to Josh Ajayi, Jamal West pulled down 13 rebounds last Friday against the Mountaineer with a total of 23 on the weekend. The 13 boards equaled the single-game high last year set by Ajayi against Pikeville and equaled in conference play against UT-Arlington. West started the first four games this season, becoming the first freshman to start the first four games since the aforementioned Ajayi.

Tyreke Locure has been a scoring threat all season, and has accumulated 174 points which is second for the Jaguars, 11th in the Sun Belt and 236th in the NCAA. This despite missing two games for injury and being limited in his return from injury.

For the fourth time this season, KK Curry fell one rebound shy of a double-double with three of the four efforts coming in Sun Belt Conference play and two of the three resulting in Jaguar wins. Stepping up his production in against SBC competition, Curry is averaging 10.8 points and 5.6 rebounds per game. While a presence on the post, the sophomore sank 19 free throws after earning 25 trips to the charity stripe over the same span.

John Pettway is fifth in the Sun Belt in field goal percentage. With 65 makes on 113 attempts (.575), Pettway is the most accurate shooter from the field on the Jaguar squad. The redshirt senior is consistent in the midrange jumper and is capable of using his six-foot-three frame to effectively drive toward the basket. The 57.5 percent would rank 43rd in the NCAA, but falls short of the requirements for rankings. Two players on the Sun Belt ratings above Pettway qualify for NCAA rankings, Georgia State's Eliel Nsoseme and Coastal Carolina's Essam Mostafa.

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