Troy University Athletics
Thursday, February 9
Troy, Ala.
7:15 p.m.
Troy University
vs
South Alabama
Trojans Prepare for In-State Rival South Alabama on Thursday Night Doubleheader; United in Cardinal, Trojan Mardi Gras and Letterwinners Day Highlighted
2/7/2023 4:02:00 PM | Basketball (M)
TROY, Ala. – Fresh off a massive win over the defending regular-season champions, Texas State, Troy continues its four-game homestand on Thursday against in-state rival South Alabama. Tip-off is slated for 7:15 p.m. after the women's basketball game in Trojan Arena.
The Trojans (14-11, 6-6 SBC) popped back to .500 in conference play when they ended a three-game losing streak against the Bobcats. Troy sits two games back from a top-four seed with six games left on the schedule. To begin the march to a first-round bye, the Trojans must take down the Jaguars (11-13, 5-7 SBC), who ride a three-game win streak heading into Thursday.
Men's basketball follows up the women's basketball game at 5:15 p.m., with the first 1,000 students to enter the arena receiving a cardinal foam sword. Concessions will feature its weekly "Thirsty Thursday" deal with soft drinks for $2 and the return of the Donut Bacon Cheeseburger. All fans are asked to wear cardinal for the annual "United in Cardinal" game, which includes the opportunity to take photos with "The Belt." At halftime, fans will be treated to a performance by the Zooperstars and the final round of the Vance Law Firm 3-Point Contest.
Saturday doubles as Trojan Mardi Gras and Letterwinners Day, where the 1993 (National Championship appearance) and 2003 (first D-I team in Troy's history to advance to the NCAA Tournament) teams will be honored at halftime. All returning men's basketball letterwinners are asked to RSVP to Stephen Brown (rsbrown@troy.edu) to reserve their tickets for the game. In honor of those teams, the first 1,500 fans will receive a throwback Troy State t-shirt and can indulge in some Conecuh sausage dogs. Tickets will be buy one, get one free for reserved tickets, while kids 12 and under receive a free general admission ticket. Lastly, to honor Trojan Mardi Gras, all fans are invited to join the concourse for free food samples from our revered sponsors.
Game Information
Location: Troy, Ala. – Trojan Arena
The Matchup: Troy (14-11, 6-6 SBC) vs. South Alabama (11-13, 5-7 SBC)
When: Saturday, Feb. 9 – 7:15 p.m.
Watch: ESPN+
Listen: Troy Sports Radio Network
Live Stats: TroyStats.com
Back on Track
When things got close late in the ballgame, Zay Williams stepped up to propel the Trojans back into the win column, 68-64, over Texas State – scored 19 points.
The Trojans held an 18-point advantage, 58-40, with 9:49 remaining until the Bobcats roared back with a 12-0 run that ended when Davion Coleman drove inside for an and-one, 58-52 – 4:49 left.
Williams ended that run after Coleman turned the ball over to the senior, allowing him to charge inside for the 10-point lead, 64-54, with 2:55 left.
Over the next 2:45, Texas State kept coming back, bringing the margin to two, 66-64. The Trojans let the clock tick down before Punter dished it inside to Williams, who drew the foul for two free throws to seal it. With his 74.2 percent free throw shooting since SBC play started, Williams nailed both to ice the game.
Get the Belt Out
The Jaguars have figured it out after losing four straight games by four points or less, winning their last three meetings by a combined score of 231-186. This win streak has brought them up from 13th to tie for ninth in the standings.
One of their wins came on Jan. 28 over the Trojans, 77-60. USA shot 52.6 percent from the field, 46.2 percent from deep and 78.6 percent from the line to claim the victory over Troy. The win also included a 23-point performance from Isaiah Moore and a double-double (10 points, 13 rebounds) by Kevin Samuel.
South Alabama's shot-blocking has remained high since SBC play started, remaining in third with 4.08 shots blocked per game. Additionally, the Jaguars rank fourth in points allowed with 66.2 on the best perimeter defense, statistically, allowing 27.2 percent from deep.
Moore continues to torch the Sun Belt with his 19.9 points per game – one of three players averaging 19 or more. He does this while being the team's second most efficient scorer with a percentage of 53.8. Meanwhile, Samuel continues to be an elite shot blocker, with 2.43 blocks per game and 56 total for second in the conference. Additionally, the graduate student sits 0.8 rebounds per game from averaging a double-double as he sits with 10.9 points and 9.2 rebounds per game.
Look at These Numbers
• Over the last four games, Williams has been a unit in crashing the boards, leading the team in four of the previous five games – Jackson Fields led against USA with four rebounds.
• In Troy's most recent game against Texas State, every Trojan got involved in the scoring column, with all nine players that played finding the bottom of the basket.
• The Trojans come off a unique win for them in conference play, having won despite shooting between 40 and 50 percent while shooting under 70 percent from the charity stripe – record was 0-3 before the Bobcats.
• A matchup against South Alabama means the Trojans battle Samuel for the Jaguars. In the last meeting, Samuel recorded the most rebounds (13) and blocks (4) by an opposing player in 2022-23.
• Last year had a similar script, with the Trojans suffering a blowout loss on the road only to return home shortly after. Troy should win the game by seven if the script were to repeat itself.
• Eugene exploded in the second half the last time these teams played, scoring 15 of his team-high 17 points scored.
• Williams has played 129 games in his five-year career at Troy. In that time, the senior has averaged 5.7 rebounds, with 6.4 averaged in 2022-23. With seven games left, Williams must collect 78 rebounds to surpass Jordon Varnado for first in career rebounds in Troy D-I history.
• Senior forward Williams ties a historic mark when he enters the court on Thursday for his 88th career start. But, more importantly, he ties Jordan Varnado for the most games played in Troy program history. Through five seasons, Williams will have played 130 games.
• Through 25 games, Troy continues to force the 30th most turnovers in the nation with 403 total for 16.12 per game. The fewest number of turnovers forced in a game is 11 against South Alabama and Louisiana, meaning they have yet to force single-digit turnovers.
• Christyon Eugene continues to impress with an uptick in minutes from 16.6 to 28.4. Despite this increase, his efficiency has increased, shooting 47.9 percent from the field, 40.5 from deep and 82.5 from the line - last season, he shot 40.6, 34.5 and 56.7, respectively.
• Three free throws stand between Williams and Antoine Myers (2012-14) in career free throws made. However, if Williams can hit those on Thursday, he will move past Myers for sixth in Troy Division-I history. With 319 total attempts, the senior shoot 66.1 percent in his career.
• Troy can't allow South Alabama to score above 69 points in Thursday's game after allowing 77 in its previous meeting. If they do, the Trojans' history in 2022-23 shows they may lose the game after going 3-8 overall and 1-4 in SBC play when allowing 70 points or more.
The Trojans (14-11, 6-6 SBC) popped back to .500 in conference play when they ended a three-game losing streak against the Bobcats. Troy sits two games back from a top-four seed with six games left on the schedule. To begin the march to a first-round bye, the Trojans must take down the Jaguars (11-13, 5-7 SBC), who ride a three-game win streak heading into Thursday.
Men's basketball follows up the women's basketball game at 5:15 p.m., with the first 1,000 students to enter the arena receiving a cardinal foam sword. Concessions will feature its weekly "Thirsty Thursday" deal with soft drinks for $2 and the return of the Donut Bacon Cheeseburger. All fans are asked to wear cardinal for the annual "United in Cardinal" game, which includes the opportunity to take photos with "The Belt." At halftime, fans will be treated to a performance by the Zooperstars and the final round of the Vance Law Firm 3-Point Contest.
Saturday doubles as Trojan Mardi Gras and Letterwinners Day, where the 1993 (National Championship appearance) and 2003 (first D-I team in Troy's history to advance to the NCAA Tournament) teams will be honored at halftime. All returning men's basketball letterwinners are asked to RSVP to Stephen Brown (rsbrown@troy.edu) to reserve their tickets for the game. In honor of those teams, the first 1,500 fans will receive a throwback Troy State t-shirt and can indulge in some Conecuh sausage dogs. Tickets will be buy one, get one free for reserved tickets, while kids 12 and under receive a free general admission ticket. Lastly, to honor Trojan Mardi Gras, all fans are invited to join the concourse for free food samples from our revered sponsors.
Game Information
Location: Troy, Ala. – Trojan Arena
The Matchup: Troy (14-11, 6-6 SBC) vs. South Alabama (11-13, 5-7 SBC)
When: Saturday, Feb. 9 – 7:15 p.m.
Watch: ESPN+
Listen: Troy Sports Radio Network
Live Stats: TroyStats.com
Back on Track
When things got close late in the ballgame, Zay Williams stepped up to propel the Trojans back into the win column, 68-64, over Texas State – scored 19 points.
The Trojans held an 18-point advantage, 58-40, with 9:49 remaining until the Bobcats roared back with a 12-0 run that ended when Davion Coleman drove inside for an and-one, 58-52 – 4:49 left.
Williams ended that run after Coleman turned the ball over to the senior, allowing him to charge inside for the 10-point lead, 64-54, with 2:55 left.
Over the next 2:45, Texas State kept coming back, bringing the margin to two, 66-64. The Trojans let the clock tick down before Punter dished it inside to Williams, who drew the foul for two free throws to seal it. With his 74.2 percent free throw shooting since SBC play started, Williams nailed both to ice the game.
Get the Belt Out
The Jaguars have figured it out after losing four straight games by four points or less, winning their last three meetings by a combined score of 231-186. This win streak has brought them up from 13th to tie for ninth in the standings.
One of their wins came on Jan. 28 over the Trojans, 77-60. USA shot 52.6 percent from the field, 46.2 percent from deep and 78.6 percent from the line to claim the victory over Troy. The win also included a 23-point performance from Isaiah Moore and a double-double (10 points, 13 rebounds) by Kevin Samuel.
South Alabama's shot-blocking has remained high since SBC play started, remaining in third with 4.08 shots blocked per game. Additionally, the Jaguars rank fourth in points allowed with 66.2 on the best perimeter defense, statistically, allowing 27.2 percent from deep.
Moore continues to torch the Sun Belt with his 19.9 points per game – one of three players averaging 19 or more. He does this while being the team's second most efficient scorer with a percentage of 53.8. Meanwhile, Samuel continues to be an elite shot blocker, with 2.43 blocks per game and 56 total for second in the conference. Additionally, the graduate student sits 0.8 rebounds per game from averaging a double-double as he sits with 10.9 points and 9.2 rebounds per game.
Look at These Numbers
• Over the last four games, Williams has been a unit in crashing the boards, leading the team in four of the previous five games – Jackson Fields led against USA with four rebounds.
• In Troy's most recent game against Texas State, every Trojan got involved in the scoring column, with all nine players that played finding the bottom of the basket.
• The Trojans come off a unique win for them in conference play, having won despite shooting between 40 and 50 percent while shooting under 70 percent from the charity stripe – record was 0-3 before the Bobcats.
• A matchup against South Alabama means the Trojans battle Samuel for the Jaguars. In the last meeting, Samuel recorded the most rebounds (13) and blocks (4) by an opposing player in 2022-23.
• Last year had a similar script, with the Trojans suffering a blowout loss on the road only to return home shortly after. Troy should win the game by seven if the script were to repeat itself.
• Eugene exploded in the second half the last time these teams played, scoring 15 of his team-high 17 points scored.
• Williams has played 129 games in his five-year career at Troy. In that time, the senior has averaged 5.7 rebounds, with 6.4 averaged in 2022-23. With seven games left, Williams must collect 78 rebounds to surpass Jordon Varnado for first in career rebounds in Troy D-I history.
• Senior forward Williams ties a historic mark when he enters the court on Thursday for his 88th career start. But, more importantly, he ties Jordan Varnado for the most games played in Troy program history. Through five seasons, Williams will have played 130 games.
• Through 25 games, Troy continues to force the 30th most turnovers in the nation with 403 total for 16.12 per game. The fewest number of turnovers forced in a game is 11 against South Alabama and Louisiana, meaning they have yet to force single-digit turnovers.
• Christyon Eugene continues to impress with an uptick in minutes from 16.6 to 28.4. Despite this increase, his efficiency has increased, shooting 47.9 percent from the field, 40.5 from deep and 82.5 from the line - last season, he shot 40.6, 34.5 and 56.7, respectively.
• Three free throws stand between Williams and Antoine Myers (2012-14) in career free throws made. However, if Williams can hit those on Thursday, he will move past Myers for sixth in Troy Division-I history. With 319 total attempts, the senior shoot 66.1 percent in his career.
• Troy can't allow South Alabama to score above 69 points in Thursday's game after allowing 77 in its previous meeting. If they do, the Trojans' history in 2022-23 shows they may lose the game after going 3-8 overall and 1-4 in SBC play when allowing 70 points or more.
Players Mentioned
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