SAN MARCOS, Texas – The Texas State men's basketball team (22-6, 11-4 Sun Belt) will have its final two-game swing of the regular season this week in Alabama when they take on the Troy Trojans (11-15, 4-10) at 6 p.m. on Feb. 28 in Trojan Arena, followed by a matchup with South Alabama (13-14, 6-8) at 7 p.m. on March 2 in the Mitchell Center.
The Bobcats have won five of their last six contests and are on the cusps of claiming at least a share of their first Sun Belt Conference Championship. Furthermore, TXST can position themselves to secure one of the top four seeds of the Sun Belt Conference Tournament this weekend.
GAME INFORMATION – TROY
6 p.m. CST | Trojan Arena
WATCH:
ESPN+ - Barry McKnight (PxP), Jerry Miller (Color Analyst)
LISTEN: AM 1300; KTSW and TuneIn.com –
Bill Culhane (PxP)
FOLLOW:
Live Stats
GAME INFORMATION – SOUTH ALABAMA
6 p.m. CST | Mitchell Center
WATCH:
ESPN+ - J.D. Byars (PxP), Pat Greenwood (Color Analyst)
LISTEN: AM 1300; KTSW and TuneIn.com –
Bill Culhane (PxP)
FOLLOW:
Live Stats
ABOUT TEXAS STATE
The Bobcats enter the weekend ranked No. 20 in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 poll, marking the 11th consecutive TXST appearance. Texas State split last weekend by falling to ULM 63-60 on Feb. 21, before bouncing back with a 64-62 win over Louisiana. The team leads the league in numerous statistical categories but are making headlines due to their defensive prowess. TXST paces the Sun Belt in scoring defense (63.9 ppg.), defensive field goal percentage (40.5), and their 29.1 3-point defensive field goal percentage ranks No. 7 in the country.
Senior guard
Tre'Larenz Nottingham led the Bobcat charge last week averaging 19.5 points in the two-game split. Nottingham connected on eight 3-pointers in the two games, bumping him up to No. 5 in the program's single season record book with 76 triples, and his 122 made 3-pointers in his career witht eh Maroon and Gold places him at No. 8 all-time. The Moreno Valley, Calif. native averages 14.1 points per game on the season. No. 14 in the Sun Belt Conference.
Junior guard
Nijal Pearson is the Bobcats scoring leader at 17.9 points (No. 8 in the Sun Belt) and shoots 40.7 percent from downtown (No. 3 in the Sun Belt) while pulling down 5.1 rebounds per game. Pearson is No. 5 amongst the all-time scoring leaders at Texas State with 1,480 points.
Junior forward
Eric Terry has been huge down the stretch for the Bobcats. On the season he averages 8.8 points, but over the last three games, Terry has averaged 14.7 points and 6.0 rebounds. The 6'8" Houston, Texas big registered his second double-double on the year when he scored a career-high 19 points with 10 rebounds vs. ULM on Feb. 21.
Senior forward
Alex Peacock averages 8.3 points and leads the team with 6.3 rebounds per game (No. 13 in Sun Belt). Junior guard
Jaylen Shead averages 7.5 points per game, leads the league with a 2.6 assists-to-turnover ratio, and is tied at No. 2 in the conference with 4.9 assists per game.
ABOUT TROY
The Troy Trojans enter the game vs. Texas State on a three-game losing streak, including a 68-52 setback vs. South Alabama on Feb. 23 in front of their third largest crowd of the season (3,049). The other losses in the three-game skid consist of a 77-63 loss at Georgia State (Feb. 13) and a 76-51 loss at Georgia Southern (Feb. 15). The Trojans are 3-4 at home in Sun Belt play and have dropped three of their last five home games. The club sits No. 8 in the league in both scoring offense (74.3 ppg.) and scoring defense (75.6 ppg.).
Senior forward Jordon Varnado is the Trojans leading scorer, averaging 21.5 points behind a 52.6 field goal percentage. Both marks rank No. 3 in the Sun Belt Conference. Varnado also averages 7.8 rebounds per game (No. 6 in the Sun Belt) and shoots 40.7 percent from 3-point range. Fellow senior forward Alex Hicks turns in 12.5 points per contest and pulls down 8.1 rebounds on average (No. 4 in the Sun Belt) to lead the team. Sophomore forward Javan Johnson completes the double-digit scorers for Troy at 10.5 points per game.
The Bobcats have a 7-4 advantage in the all-time series vs. the Trojans overall, and have won four of the last five meetings. In the last meeting (Jan. 6, 2018) Pearson led Texas State with 13 points as they edged Troy, 57-56 at Strahan Arena.
ABOUT SOUTH ALABAMA
South Alabama snapped its three-game losing streak with the 68-52 win over rival Troy on Feb. 23. The Jaguars return to the Mitchell Center for the final time this season and will host UT Arlington on Feb. 28 before facing off vs. The Bobcats. Although they rank towards the bottom of the league in scoring offense (73.5 – No. 11 in the Sun Belt), USA is in the top five in field goal percentage (45.7 – No. 5), 3-point field goal percentage (36.1 – No. 4) and knocks down 8.4 triples per game (No. 5 in the Sun Belt). Defensively, the Jaguars relinquish just 72.2 points per game (No. 4 in the Sun Belt) and average 4.2 blocks per game.
The Jaguars have four players who average in double figures scoring, beginning with junior forward Josh Ajayi. Ajayi leads the conference with a 55.8-percent clip from the floor, drops 15.7 points (No. 12 in the Sun Belt), and grabs 7.9 rebounds (No. 5 in the Sun Belt) per game. Junior forward Trhae Mitchell follows his lead with 13.7 points per game, shooting nearly 50 percent from the floor (49.8) and 42.1 percent from behind the arc. Mitchell also ranks in the top 10 of the conference with 7.6 rebounds per game (No. 8 in the Sun Belt). Senior guard Rodrick Sikes is next chipping in 12.3 points per game, and graduate Kory Holden averages 10.2 points in 18 games played.
Texas State has controlled the head-to-head matchups vs. South Alabama, winning six of the last seven contests and lead the series overall 7-2. The Bobcats have won the last two games, but will face the Jaguars in Mobile, Ala. for the first time since Jan. 14, 2017. USA won that game, 72-67 in overtime.
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