Trojans Ready for First Round Contest

Live Audio | Tournament Central | Game Notes

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – The Troy men's basketball team opens the Sun Belt Conference Championships on Saturday when they take on South Alabama in a first round match-up.

The Trojans and Jaguars tip at 6:00 p.m. at Summit Arena with the winner moving on to meet Denver in the quarterfinals on Sunday at 8:45 p.m.

The game between the two in-state rivals features two of the hottest teams coming into the four-day tournament in Hot Springs, Ark.

Troy (10-17, 5-11) finds itself as the 11th seed in the tournament, but comes in after winning its last two games of the regular season at FIU and Florida Atlantic. Troy is one of just three teams that come into the tournament having win consecutive games (Denver, WKU).

South Alabama (16-11, 8-8), despite losing their regular season finale at FIU, won its four previous games and entered the game in Miami having won six of seven.

For live audio from Hot Springs, Ark. via Trojans All-Access, visit the above link. Fans can also find live video and live stats via SunBeltSports.org at the above Tournament Central link.

For more information on Troy Athletics, be sure to visit TroyTrojans.com. Fans can also find Troy on Twitter at @TroyAthletics or become fans on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/TroyAthletics.

Gameday Storylines

- The Trojans enter the Sun Belt Conference Championships having won their last two regular season games, both on the road, at FIU and Florida Atlantic.

- Troy is one of just three teams that enter the tournament having won consecutive games (Denver, WKU).

- The Trojans are 4-6 all-time in the Sun Belt Tournament, including a 1-1 mark against first round opponent South Alabama. The Jags won both regular season meetings between the two teams.

- The Trojans enter the game as the ninth best 3-point shooting team in the country as they average 8.9 made 3-pointers game.

- The outside shooting creates long rebounds which allow the undersized Trojans to grab 14.0 offensive boards per game, the second best mark in the Sun Belt (South Alabama) and 20th best in the NCAA.

- Troy doesn't waste the extra possessions they create as they commit just 12.7 turnovers per game. Pair that with the 14.9 turnovers they force, and Troy's +2.2 turnover margin is the second best in the Sun Belt (Denver).

- The Troy offense features a balanced attack as six different players have led the team in scoring this season. Will Weathers (12.0) leads Troy in scoring while Justin Wright (10.4) and Alan Jones (10.3) are also in double-figures.

- Weathers doesn't just score for the Trojans, he is also one of the best distributors in the nation as his 5.7 assists per game lead the Sun Belt and rank 28th in the NCAA.

Looking at South Alabama

- The Jags lost their last game of the regular season at FIU, 81-74. Prior to that game, South Alabama had won four in a row and six of their previous seven, starting with the narrow win over Troy.

- Augustine Rubit leads the Jags in both scoring (14.9) and rebounding (9.3). In fact, his rebounding mark leads the Sun Belt while his scoring mark sits third.

- The Jaguars do most of their damage on the glass as they average 39.7 rebounds per game, the 11th best mark in the nation. Their +7.5 rebounding margin is tops in the Sun Belt and seventh in the NCAA.

- The Jags do commit 16.2 turnovers per game, the second worst mark in the Sun Belt. Their -3.41 turnover margin is the worst in the league. USA turned it over 18 times in each of their two games versus Troy this season.

The Series

- The Trojans trail the all-time series with the Jaguars, 6-12, including a 1-1 mark at the Sun Belt Tournament. Both of those meetings came in Hot Springs, Ark.

- In 2009 South Alabama won, 78-75 in the quarterfinals after Troy had won 12 of 13 entering the tournament.

- Troy returned the favor in 2010 by defeating the Jags, 67-55, in a quarterfinal match-up. Troy went on to an appearance in the championship game that season,

- This year, South Alabama won both regular season meetings. USA won 75-60 in Troy on Jan. 14 and 68-66 in Mobile on Jan. 29.

- In the game in Mobile, Troy erased a 19-point, second-half deficit to take a 64-63 lead with 1:51 to go. With the scored tied at 66-66, South Alabama had the ball with a minute to go. Goldstein put up an errant 3-point shot with 35 seconds to go, but the Jags came away with the offensive rebound.

- Augustine Rubit then got the game-winning bucket with just two seconds left on the clock in a 68-66 South Alabama win.

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