03/15/06–
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
JAGUARS HEAD TO NCAA TOURNAMENT
THE SETTING
The South Alabama men’s basketball returns to the NCAA Tournament
for the first time since 1998 as a #14 seed in the Minneapolis Regional
facing #3 Florida in the first round in Jacksonville, Fla., on Thursday.
The Jaguars enter the tournament as one of the hottest teams in
the field winning its last eight games and 11-of-12. This will be
the seventh trip to the NCAA Tournament for South Alabama. Jaguar
head coach John Pelphrey was an assistant coach at Florida for six
years before taking the head coaching position at South Alabama
in 2002. The Jaguars enter with a record of 24-6 and winners of
the Sun Belt Conference West Division and were SBC Tournament Champions.
Florida enters with a 27-6 mark and won its second consecutive Southeastern
Conference Tournament championship on Sunday over South Carolina,
49-47. The Gators also are on a winning streak as they have won
the last five games.
A JAGUAR WIN OVER FLORIDA
WOULD...
• Tie the school record for wins in a season with 25.
• Move the Jaguars into the second round for the second time
in seven tries. The Jags would face either #6 Oklahoma or #11 Wisconsin-Milwaukee
on Saturday.
• Give the Jaguars their second win over a ranked opponent
this season. USA defeated No. 25 Houston 66-62 on Dec. 17, 2005.
• Give USA its first win over an SEC opponent in 10 tries.
USA last defeated an SEC school on Dec. 1, 2000 when the Jags beat
Auburn at home 68-66.
• Give Jaguar head coach John Pelphrey his first win over
an SEC school. He is 0-6 in his career at South Alabama.
FAMILIAR FACES
Jaguar head coach John Pelphrey knows the Florida Gators very well.
Pelphrey was an assistant coach under Billy Donovan from the 1996-97
season through 2001-02 before taking the South Alabama job in March
of 2002. Jaguar assistant coach Tom Ostrom also was on Donovan’s
staff at Florida. Ostrom was an assistant coach during the 2002-03
and 2003-04 seasons and was an administrative assistant and video
coordinator before that.
JAGUARS LEAD
THE NATION IN TURNAROUND
The Jaguars have the best turnaround in the nation from last season
to this. USA was 10-18 a year ago and is 24-6 heading into the NCAA
Tournament. That is 14 game win difference from last season to this
one and a 13.0 differential. Brigham Young is second with a 12.0
differential.
PELPHREY NAMED COACH
OF THE YEAR
South Alabama head coach John Pelphrey has been named Sun Belt Conference
Coach of the Year by the league’s coaches, the conference
announced Wednesday. Pelphrey guided his team to a 21-6 mark, the
best regular season since the 1980-81 season and the 13th 20-win
season in school history. Pelphrey is the first Jaguar coach to
win the Coach of the Year honors since Bob Wetlich won that honor
after the 1999-2000 season.
ON FIRE OVER
THE LAST FIVE GAMES
The Jaguars are in the midst of their longest winning streak of
the season at eight games. USA is shooting a blazing .498 from the
field during the past five games (148-of-297). The Jags are 43-of-104
from beyond the arc for .413 and 82-of-115 from the line for .713.
USA has upped its rebounding to 35.0 in the previous five games
and has allowed 33.4 rebounds per game. The Jaguars have forced
91 turnovers during the stretch and have 72 assists. South Alabama
is outscoring its opponents 421-332 during the past five games for
a 84.2 points per game average to 66.4.
The South Alabama Jaguar men’s basketball team enters the
NCAA Tournament as one of the hottest teams in the field. USA clinched
the 2005-06 Sun Belt Conference West Division crown on Feb. 20 with
a 64-51 victory at Florida International. USA then defeated Denver
for its 20th win of the season on Feb. 23, 74-65 and closed the
season with a 99-79 victory over North Texas on Feb. 25. The 21
wins is the most in a season during the John Pelphrey era. Also,
the nine road victories is more than the last three years wins on
the road combined. USA continued its hot play at the 2006 Aeropostale
Sun Belt Conference Tournament as won the championship in amazing
fashion with a 95-70 pounding of Western Kentucky in the final.
Heading into the NCAA Tournament, the Jaguars are led by senior
Mario Jointer who has posted 404 points in 30 games for a 13.5 points
per game average. Senior Richard Law is second on the team with
an 11.2 average. Jointer leads the team with 133 rebounds for a
4.4 average. He leads the team with 49 steals and is second behind
junior Carlos Smith (89) with 84 assists.
As a team, the Jaguars are shooting .456 percent (778-1705). From
beyond the arc, USA is 258-708 (.364) and from the line, the Jags
are 419-of-594 for .705 percent.
FLORIDA GATORS
Florida enters the tournament winners of its last five including
a 49-47 win over South Carolina on Sunday to win its second consecutive
Southeastern Conference Tournament Championship. The Gators are
27-6 overall and finished 10-6 in conference play have five players
averaging double-figures. Taurean Green and Joakim Noah lead the
team at a 13.8 clip, followed by Corey Brewer at 12.5, Al Horford
at 11.2 and Lee Humphrey at 10.6. Green averaged 16.0 points per
game to earn SEC Tournament MVP honors this year.
" Florida began the year 16-0 and was ranked number one in
the nation, before going 5-6 from Jan. 21 to Feb. 26. UF then finished
won five straight heading into the NCAA Tournament.
The Gators are making their eighth straight NCAA Tournament appearance,
the fifth longest streak in SEC history. The 27 wins by the Gators
is a school record before heading into the NCAA Tournament and are
two shy of the overall school record.
UF has shot 51.2 percent over its past four games, including 54.5
against LSU. The Gators are hitting 45.3 percent from beyond the
arc during that stretch.
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