THE COACHES
South Alabama
Ronnie Arrow (Southwest Texas State, 1969)
Record at USA: 173-124 (11th year)
Overall Record: 307-215 (19th year)
Record vs. Middle Tennessee: 3-3

Middle Tennessee
Kermit Davis (Mississippi State, 1982)
Record at MT: 131-107 (8th year)
Overall Record: 202-157 (13th year)

LAST GAME
South Alabama won at New Orleans 59-51. Middle Tennessee fell at home 70-67 to Troy.

NEXT GAME
The Jaguars continue their homestand Thursday vs. Florida International. The Blue Raiders host Denver.

ON THE AIR
TV: Sun Belt Network; Richard Cross (pxp), Shane Power (color)
Radio: 105.5 FM WNSP in Mobile; Lee Shirvanian (pxp), Pat Greenwood (color)
On the web: www.wnsp.com (audio); Jaguar Nation (video)

RANKINGS (through 2/4)
USA: #224 RPI, #212 Sagarin
MT: #173 RPI, #199 Sagarin

THE SERIES
USA leads 11-10.

Current winning streak: South Alabama, 1
MTSU’s last win in series: 82-67 (1/3/09)
Last meeting: South Alabama 63, Middle Tennessee 57 (2/19/09)
Last five games: MT leads 3-2
USA’s last win at Mitchell Center: 75-61 (12/22/07)
MT’s last win at Mitchell Center: 82-67 (1/3/09)
USA’s record at Mitchell Center: 4-4
USA’s home streak: Lost 2
USA’s longest winning / losing streak in series: 4 / 3
Notes: The Jags ended a three-game losing streak to the Blue Raiders with a six-point win in Murfreesboro last season... One of those three losses was a home semifinal loss in the 2008 Sun Belt Tournament... It was the second straight season Middle Tennessee eliminated South Alabama and fourth time overall... The schools played just once from 1982-2001 before MTSU entered the Sun Belt... USA is 5-5 at home in the series.

OPENING TIP
South Alabama has a plus-11.3 rebounding margin in its last four games but has a 1-3 record. USA won the battle of the boards 40-23 Thursday, including 24-11 in the second half alone. The Jags had 16 offensive rebounds to the Privateers’ 15 defensive boards.

Middle Tennessee had its five-game winning streak halted Thursday at Troy. Despite the loss, the Blue Raiders are in a three-way tie for first in the Sun Belt East.

MTSU leads the conference in scoring defense (63.8 ppg) and has allowed more than 70 points just once in its last 10 games. USA is fifth in scoring defense (67.4), first in field goal percentage defense (40.5%) and second in 3-point defense (31.8%).

Since committing 19 turnovers Jan. 21 at North Texas, South Alabama opponents have averaged just 9.75 miscues in the last four games. The Jags are still fourth in the Sun Belt by forcing 14.9 turnovers per contest. The Blue Raiders are third at 15.0 per game.

Gary Redus made an appearance in the starting lineup Thursday for the first time since the season opener. He responded with 16 points, tied for his second-highest output of the season, and grabbed a career-high eight rebounds. He also dished out four assists and recorded one block and one steal.

Tim Williams continued his streak of 12 straight games in double-figure points with 16 at UNO. He recorded his second straight double-double with 11 rebounds, one shy of his personal best. It was his third double-double of the season, tied for the most by a USA player this season.

Williams is one of two players (Tyren Johnson-ULL) who ranks in the top 10 in the Sun Belt in both scoring and rebounding.