Jags Travel to Arkansas State Needing Win to Secure SBC Tournament Spot
The South Alabama men’s basketball team head into the final two games of the regular season needing a win to put themselves into the Sun Belt Conference Tournament.
In their first opportunity Thursday night at Arkansas State, the Jags control their own destiny. Win and they are in. However, all is not lost if they lose but it means they don’t control their own destiny. With a loss at ASU, they would need to return home and defeat Troy at the Mitchell Center on Saturday but would need some help in order to make the tournament.
The Jags (9-20, 7-11 SBC) have lost their last three games against the top three teams in the conference. They have had a week to prepare to exact revenge on the Red Wolves )11-16, 6-12 SBC) who defeated USA in overtime at the Mitchell Center on December 30.
The Red Wolves have won two of their last three games after a five-game losing streak. Both wins came at home against conference co-leaders Louisiana-Monroe and Texas-Arlington. Also the Red Wolves sit just one game behind the Jaguars and also need a win to keep their tournament hopes alive.
ASU’s Anthony Livingston is coming off a 20-point, 13-rebound effort against Texas State and averages a double-double per game for the season. Against the Jags in December he had 16 points and 13 rebounds. He ranks sixth in the conference in scoring with a 15.6 point per game average and ranks second in rebounding with an even 10 rebounds per game.
South Alabama’s Ken Williams ranks seventh in the conference in scoring with a 15.4 point per game average and ranks second in 3-pointers per game. In the previous game against ULM, Williams scored 21 points with four 3-pointers. He has also had nine 20-point outings this season. He also moved up to eighth in school history with 77 3-pointers, the most ever by a USA sophomore.
USA and ASU tip-off at 7:30pm tonight in Jonesboro, AR.