USA playing its best basketball of the season going into Sun Belt tournament opener today against physical Florida International
DENTON, Texas -- The kind of team South Alabama coach John Pelphrey thought he would put on the floor this season finally showed up for the last 12 minutes of the regular season here Saturday, as the Jaguars blitzed North Texas 40-15 in that span on the way to a 91-72 victory.
The 91 points represented a season-high output for USA, 14 points better than the previous high mark and 29 points better than the team's scoring average. It was also South Alabama's fourth win in its last six games.
That's the team Pelphrey hopes will show up here again today as the Jaguars (10-17) play Florida International (11-16) at 1:30 p.m. at Texas Women's University in the first round of the Sun Belt Conference men's basketball tournament.
"As long as we play like we did in the second half of North Texas, we're able to beat anybody in the tournament," said Mario Jointer, South Alabama's leading scorer (16.9 points per game) and rebounder (5.3 per game). "I'm sure people will look at our record and misjudge us. We showed against North Texas how well we can play. It's the start of the third season and we're excited to be playing our best basketball of the year."
The other two games in the men's bracket today will be played at The Super Pit at North Texas where the host Mean Green plays Arkansas State at 5:30 p.m. and Middle Tennessee faces New Mexico State at 8.
The USA-FIU winner will advance to play East Division champion Arkansas-Little Rock Saturday at 5:30 p.m. The South Alabama women's team opens tournament play Sunday morning at 11 against Arkansas State.
"We've won four of our last six, we're coming off a big road win and our best 12 minutes we've played all year on both ends of the floor," Pelphrey said. "We're going to need that same effort and same focus we showed in those last 12 minutes against North Texas. That's kind of what I expected this season.
"Maybe we can surprise everybody at the tournament. Hopefully, this will be a better-late-than-never kind of thing. It's March madness. This is our chance to be a part of it."
One of South Alabama's two losses in its late 4-2 run was a tough 74-71 home loss to Florida International, one of seven Jag setbacks by five points or less.
The Golden Panthers are considered one of the most physical teams in the conference, led by 6-foot-6 bruiser Ivan Almonte. The first-team All-Sun Belt forward averages 17.6 points and 9.9 rebounds and he hit those numbers in the previous meeting against the Jaguars with 18 points and 11 rebounds.
"They'll bump you and elbow you, but you can't let that get to you," Jointer said. "I had a big bump on my forehead from an elbow the last time we played them. We have to come out and play physical with them without getting into foul trouble."
Richard Law (9.7 ppg, 4.5 rpg) will draw the key defensive assignment against Almonte.
"You know when you play a guy like him it's going to be a physical battle," Law said. "You know they are going to attack you. We just have to be as aggressive as they are. We're excited about the tournament. We're coming off our best effort as a team all year offensively and defensively. We have a clean slate now. We're 0-0 and trying to win four in a row."
The men's championship game is Tuesday at 8 p.m. with the winner receiving the Sun Belt's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. The Sun Belt can't realistically expect one of its teams to get an at-large bid to the NCAA, so the conference tournament promises to be a wide-open battle for that one ticket to the Big Dance.
"There are a lot of teams playing well now in the league and it's one of those situations really where anybody can beat anybody," Pelphrey said. "It's going to come down to who can make the big plays down the stretch. It could come down to an injury or foul trouble or fatigue with so many games in a short span. Anything is likely to happen."
South Alabama has been eliminated in the first round of the Sun Belt tournament for the last three years.
DENTON, Texas -- The kind of team South Alabama coach John Pelphrey thought he would put on the floor this season finally showed up for the last 12 minutes of the regular season here Saturday, as the Jaguars blitzed North Texas 40-15 in that span on the way to a 91-72 victory.
The 91 points represented a season-high output for USA, 14 points better than the previous high mark and 29 points better than the team's scoring average. It was also South Alabama's fourth win in its last six games.
That's the team Pelphrey hopes will show up here again today as the Jaguars (10-17) play Florida International (11-16) at 1:30 p.m. at Texas Women's University in the first round of the Sun Belt Conference men's basketball tournament.
"As long as we play like we did in the second half of North Texas, we're able to beat anybody in the tournament," said Mario Jointer, South Alabama's leading scorer (16.9 points per game) and rebounder (5.3 per game). "I'm sure people will look at our record and misjudge us. We showed against North Texas how well we can play. It's the start of the third season and we're excited to be playing our best basketball of the year."
The other two games in the men's bracket today will be played at The Super Pit at North Texas where the host Mean Green plays Arkansas State at 5:30 p.m. and Middle Tennessee faces New Mexico State at 8.
The USA-FIU winner will advance to play East Division champion Arkansas-Little Rock Saturday at 5:30 p.m. The South Alabama women's team opens tournament play Sunday morning at 11 against Arkansas State.
"We've won four of our last six, we're coming off a big road win and our best 12 minutes we've played all year on both ends of the floor," Pelphrey said. "We're going to need that same effort and same focus we showed in those last 12 minutes against North Texas. That's kind of what I expected this season.
"Maybe we can surprise everybody at the tournament. Hopefully, this will be a better-late-than-never kind of thing. It's March madness. This is our chance to be a part of it."
One of South Alabama's two losses in its late 4-2 run was a tough 74-71 home loss to Florida International, one of seven Jag setbacks by five points or less.
The Golden Panthers are considered one of the most physical teams in the conference, led by 6-foot-6 bruiser Ivan Almonte. The first-team All-Sun Belt forward averages 17.6 points and 9.9 rebounds and he hit those numbers in the previous meeting against the Jaguars with 18 points and 11 rebounds.
"They'll bump you and elbow you, but you can't let that get to you," Jointer said. "I had a big bump on my forehead from an elbow the last time we played them. We have to come out and play physical with them without getting into foul trouble."
Richard Law (9.7 ppg, 4.5 rpg) will draw the key defensive assignment against Almonte.
"You know when you play a guy like him it's going to be a physical battle," Law said. "You know they are going to attack you. We just have to be as aggressive as they are. We're excited about the tournament. We're coming off our best effort as a team all year offensively and defensively. We have a clean slate now. We're 0-0 and trying to win four in a row."
The men's championship game is Tuesday at 8 p.m. with the winner receiving the Sun Belt's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. The Sun Belt can't realistically expect one of its teams to get an at-large bid to the NCAA, so the conference tournament promises to be a wide-open battle for that one ticket to the Big Dance.
"There are a lot of teams playing well now in the league and it's one of those situations really where anybody can beat anybody," Pelphrey said. "It's going to come down to who can make the big plays down the stretch. It could come down to an injury or foul trouble or fatigue with so many games in a short span. Anything is likely to happen."
South Alabama has been eliminated in the first round of the Sun Belt tournament for the last three years.
