South Alabama Men’s Basketball defeats No.25 Florida State in Season Opener

South Alabama Jaguars upset Florida State Seminoles, 76-71 in their season opener in Tallahassee. Their first win over a major conference team in a while.

South Alabama hands Florida State a upset 

South Alabama lead the game most of the time to go into half time with a lead, after they returned from the locker room South Alabama finished the game with a upset over Florida State. There have been years a speculation that the Jaguars would never beat a team such as the Seminoles but they pull an amazing upset on Friday against a top 25 NCAA Basketball team, a team that who won their conference ACC title last season.

South Alabama lead with three points shooting and Free throws in the game against Florida State.  The start in this game goes to Antoine Allen who shot 21 points in 23 minutes on the floor, Freddie Goldstein and Mychal Ammons were also game players in this upset over the Seminoles.

The entire team pulled together in this game and played well, I give them all credit. This is the team we should see at South, if the Jaguars keep this type of play in action on the court they do have a chance to compete for the conference title and maybe get a NCAA tournament birth.

South Alabama on Wednesday will face William Carey at home in the Mitchell Center.  They face one more top 25 team in New Mexico State on Dec. 4^th.

South Alabama don’t worry about getting the big time media coverage, those mainstream networks is not focus on mid-majors like the Jaguars because it’s not a money maker for them. However you keep playing and keep defeating these over-rated teams that they put there, just because they have an awesome bank roll to fatten the pockets of the mainstream media outlets.

It’s the same way in football, all over-rated teams in the top 25, however it’s only because what that program have to offer in finance not play. Be encouraged Jags you are winners.

 

Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders holds off Alabama State hornets

Middle Tennessee Men's Basketball

In Murfeesboro, TN the Blue Raiders Jason Jones scored 19 points on 9-of-9 shooting and Middle Tennessee trampled Alabama State 97-53 in each team's season opener Friday night.

Middle Tennessee left no room for a victory from Alabama State Hornets, the Blue celebrated at home with a dominate victory.

James Gallman had 15 points for Middle Tennessee, including 5 of 7 from beyond the 3-point arc. The Blue Raiders were 11 of 27 from 3. The 97 points were the most for Middle Tennessee since dropping 109 points on Houston Baptist on Feb. 13, 2010.

South Alabama Men’s Basketball ready for the Court

South Alabama had a winning season last season, losing a few games in some close calls and there was some games where the players seems as though they just gave up.

After Middle Tennessee, South Alabama was the only team in the East Division to have a record above .500 overall (17-12), but at 8-8 in conference play, didn't give much pressure to the Blue Raiders in terms of division supremacy. In 2012-2013, Ronnie Arrow is hoping his squad will be able to rectify that. Like the Blue Raiders, the Jaguars are extremely potent up front. Last season South Alabama was the top rebounding team in the conference (39.7 pg) and the eighth best in the nation overall.

Junior forward Augustine Rubit (15.2 ppg, 9.2 rpg) is the major reason for the Jaguars strong inside game. Last season he connected on 71.3 percent of his shots as is scoring numbers jumped by two points per game from his freshman season, although his rebounding did drop by nearly the same amount in that time. Mychal Ammons (10.0 ppg, 6.3 rpg) is more of a swingman but can play both on the inside and outside effectively on both sides of the ball.

More consistent guard play could push the Jaguars to the next level. Freddie Goldstein (11.7 ppg) was the best scorer from the perimeter, while Trey Anderson (5.8 ppg, 3.1 apg) turned in the best numbers in terms of assists. TCU transfer Xavier Roberson is also an intriguing backcourt option after averaging 9.9 points per game in eight games last season.

South Alabama will begin its regular season on November 9^th against Florida State in Tallahassee, Florida.

Sun Belt Preseason Men's Basketball All-Conference Team

Basketball season is almost here and players of the year and possible conference champions are already being mention.

Sun Belt Conference Freshman of the Year Tony Mitchell was named 2012-13 Men’s Basketball Preseason Player of the Year, while Middle Tennessee and North Texas were unanimous selections to win the SBC East and West Divisions, respectively, the league office announced Wednesday.

In conference games last season, Mitchell averaged a double-double and led the league in points per game (15.9), rebounds per game (11.8), three-point percentage (.471) and blocked shots (50). The sophomore forward also shot 58.1 percent from the field which placed second in the league.

MT was tabbed to win the SBC East after taking all 11 preseason first place votes. The Blue Raiders won the SBC Regular Season crown in 2011-12 with a 14-2 mark and earned votes in this year’s USA Today coaches’ preseason poll for the first time in program history.

North Texas was placed to finish first in the SBC West after receiving all 11 preseason first place votes.

The Blue Raiders return 10 of their top 12 leading scorers from last season, including Preseason All-SBC First Team selection Marcos Knight. The senior guard from Rentz, Ga., registered 11.8 points and 3.0 assists per game last year. His 1.6 assist:turnover ratio in conference play ranked third in the league.

Picked to finish second in the SBC East was South Alabama under the direction of 14th-year head coach Ronnie Arrow. The Jaguars return seven letterwinners and their top three scorers from last year’s 17-12 squad, with Preseason All-SBC First Team selection Augustine Rubit leading the way.

Rubit, a junior forward from Houston, Texas, earned All-SBC First Team accolades last year and was the only Jaguar to start all 29 games. He led the league in rebounding for the second consecutive season and ranked 38th in the nation with 9.2 per game. He also returns as the league’s leading scorer after dropping in 15.2 points a game last season, second best in the conference.

After leading UALR to a first-place finish in the SBC West last season, sophomore Will Neighbour inked his name on the Preseason All-SBC First Team. In his rookie season, the big man poured in 10.5 points per game while pulling down 5.3 rebounds. He also proved his shooting accuracy by knocking down 81.5 percent from the free throw line and 41.3 percent from beyond the arc.

Neighbour was a Second Team All-SBC selection last season and will look to lead a young UALR team that welcomes nine newcomers. The Trojans are guided by 10th-year head coach Steve Shields and are projected to finish third in the SBC West as they return three letterwinners.

Arkansas State senior guard Trey Finn rounded out the Preseason All-SBC First Team after sinking 11.6 points per game last season for the Red Wolves. Finn tallied 21 double-digit scoring games last season and also brought down 5.3 rebounds per game. He started 29 of 30 contests for ASU and connected on a team-high 61 three-pointers while shooting 45.9 percent from long-range.

Under the direction of fifth-year head coach John Brady, ASU was picked to finish second in the SBC West Division. The Red Wolves return four starters from last year’s team, including leading scorer and Preseason All-SBC Third Team selection Marcus Hooten.

Defending SBC Tournament champions WKU was tabbed for a third place finish in the SBC East and returns 63.3 percent of its scoring from last season. The Hilltoppers knocked off Mississippi Valley State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament last season and have won at least one game in its last three NCAA Tournament appearances (2008, 09, 12).

WKU returns four starters and nine letterwinners from last year’s team, including Preseason All-SBC Second Team selection George Fant. The Hilltoppers have made it to at least the SBC Tournament semifinals in eight consecutive seasons.

The SBC will have two regular-season nationally televised games on ESPN2 in addition to the SBC Championship finals in Hot Springs on March 11. Florida Atlantic will travel to Indiana on Dec. 21 in the first nationally televised game, and either WKU at MT or UALR at NT will be aired on ESPN2 on Jan. 26.

Four SBC contests will be nationally televised on ESPNU, and an additional eight matchups can be seen on ESPN3.com. The Sun Belt Network will air seven regular-season games and the SBC Championship quarterfinals and semifinals.

2012-13 Men’s Basketball Preseason All-Conference First Team

 ■Will Neighbour (UALR, Jr., Forward)

 ■Trey Finn (Arkansas State, Sr., Guard)

 ■Marcos Knight (Middle Tennessee, Sr., Guard)  

 ■Tony Mitchell (North Texas, So., Forward)

 ■Augustine Rubit (South Alabama, Jr., Forward)

2012-13 Men’s Basketball Preseason All-Conference Second Team

 ■Brandon Peterson (Arkansas State, Sr., Forward)

 ■Greg Gantt (Florida Atlantic, Sr., Guard)

 ■JT Sulton (Middle Tennessee, Sr., Forward)

 ■Bruce Massey (Middle Tennessee, Sr., Guard)

 ■George Fant (WKU, So., Forward)

2012-13 Men’s Basketball Preseason All-Conference Third Team

 ■Marcus Hooten (Arkansas State, Sr., Guard)

 ■Raymond Cintron (Middle Tennessee, Sr., Guard)

 ■Javier Carter (South Alabama, Sr., Forward)

 ■Freddie Goldstein (South Alabama, Sr., Guard)

 ■T.J. Price (WKU, So., Guard)

2012-13 Men’s Basketball Preseason Player of the Year

 ■Tony Mitchell (North Texas, So., Forward)

2012-13 Men’s Basketball Preseason Coaches’ Poll

(First place votes in parentheses)

EAST DIVISION

1. Middle Tennessee – 65 points (11)

2. South Alabama – 51 points

3. WKU – 47 points

4. Florida Atlantic – 29 points

5. Troy – 22 points

6. FIU – 17 points

WEST DIVISION

1. North Texas – 55 points (11)
2. Arkansas State – 40 points
3. UALR – 33 points
4. Louisiana-Lafayette – 24 points
5. Louisiana-Monroe – 13 points