South Alabama Weekly Basketball Preview (Week 13)
After a disappointing ending to their last homestand, South Alabama hit the road last week. The Jaguars were originally set to take on both Marshall and James Madison, but were only able to play one of those games due to the winter storm impacting the country. That one game, a 90-83 win over James Madison improved the Jags to 14-6 overall. The game against Marshall had to be rescheduled and will now take place Monday February, 16.
Coastal Carolina at South Alabama
The Jags will return to the Mitchell Center Thursday night, hoping to move back into a tie for second place in the conference when they host a red hot Coastal Carolina team. The Chanticleers will enter Thursday’s game having won five straight, hoping to get themselves in the mix for a top 2 seed, with an overall record of 13-9 and 6-4 conference record. The Chanticleer’s most recent win, an 85-67 blowout of Southern Miss.
The Chanticleers as a team are a strong force in the paint. Coastal Carolina leads the Sun Belt in total rebounds and defensive rebounds. This could be a problem for the Jaguars, who have struggled on the offensive glass. They will also look to hurt the Jaguars from behind the arc. The Chanticleers shooting 34% from three will look to exploit a South Alabama zone that has allowed the most three point attempts in the country.
Coastal Carolina meanwhile will have to find a way to score, South Alabama has done a great job defensively this year, limiting teams to just 68.8 points per game. The Jaguars have also done an incredible job of avoiding fouls and limiting turnovers. South Alabama with the least turnovers per game, and least fouls per game in the Sun Belt.
Individually the Chanticleers are lead by three guards Joshua Beadle, Rasheed Jones, and AJ Dancler. These three guards all three average more than 14 points per game and account for over 65% of the Coastal Carolina points.
South Alabama will rely on their dynamic duo of forward Adam Olsen and guard Chaze Harris, who have both been having incredible years. Olsen who averages 16.5 points per game is also a threat from three point range, leading the conference in three pointers made with 58 on the year. Chaze Harris meanwhile averages 18 points per game good enough for second in the conference, as well as averaging 4.5 assists per game enough for third in the conference.
Tipoff: Thursday, Jan. 29, 7 p.m. CST
TV: ESPN+
Radio: Sports Talk 99.5 & The Jags Radio Network (South Alabama), WRXZ 107.1 (Coastal Carolina)
Georgia State at South Alabama
From one red hot team to another on Saturday, South Alabama will host Georgia State to close the homestand with a rare Saturday night home game due to the Panini Senior Bowl festivities on campus.
Georgia State winners of four in a row entering the week is hoping to continue their turnaround with strong conference play after a rough start to the year. The Panthers, despite an overall record of 9-12, enter the week second in the sun belt with a 6-3 conference record. Their most recent game an 82-81 home upset of Arkansas State.
Following last week’s game, Georgia State guard Jelani Hamilton was named Sun Belt player of the week, averaging 30.5 points, 5 rebounds, and shot an incredible 44% for three. On the year he leads the conference in scoring averaging 19.38 points per game, as well as leading the conference in free throw percentage .
He will not be the only guard South Alabama will have to stop to win this one though, Georgia State also has also had strong years from freshman Micah Tucker and junior Malachi Brown. This trio has accounted for over 52% of Georgia State’s scoring on the year.
The key for South Alabama to win this one will be limiting the fouls. Georgia State has struggled to score, only averaging 71 points per game which ranks third worst in the conference. Where Georgia State has excelled has been on the charity stripe. Georgia State leads the conference in free throw percentage. South Alabama will look to rely on their defense to shut the Panthers down.
Tipoff: Saturday, Jan. 30, 7 p.m. CST
TV: ESPN+
Radio: Sports Talk 99.5 & The Jags Radio Network (South Alabama), WRAS-FM 88.5 (Georgia State)
About The Author
