Saturday, March 1st, 7:30 p.m. (et)

FACTS & STATS: Site: Pharmed Arena (5,000) -- Miami, Florida. Television: None. Home Record: South Alabama 16-0, FIU 8-8. Away Record: South Alabama 6-4, FIU 1-10. Neutral Record: South Alabama 2-1, FIU 0-0. Conference Record: South Alabama 15-2, FIU 6-11. Series Record: South Alabama leads, 11-7

GAME NOTES: South Alabama will try to grab the top seed in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament, but to do so the Jaguars will have to defeat the Florida International Golden Panthers this evening at Pharmed Arena. The Jags are currently tied with Western Kentucky at the top of the East Division with a 15-2 ledger, but South Alabama holds the tie-breaker thanks to two victory over WKU. The Jags have won four consecutive games, including a commanding 81-61 victory over New Orleans this past Thursday. With the win, USA is a perfect 16-0 at home this season and that should bode well for the Jags, who will host the SBC Tournament. As for the Golden Panthers, they have lost two straight contests, falling to Troy (66-59) and most recently Western Kentucky (69-54). It has been a rough season for FIU, which is just 6-11 in league action. However, eight of the team's nine victories have occurred at Pharmed Arena. With regard to the all-time series, the Jags hold an 11-7 edge over FIU and that includes an 85-73 victory earlier this season.

The Jaguars completely dominated New Orleans this past Thursday, defeating the Privateers, 81-61. In the win, South Alabama held UNO to a pathetic 29.0 percent shooting effort from the floor and also limited the team to a mere 3- of-16 clip from long range. At the other end of the floor, the Jags were just as successful, shooting 50.0 percent from the floor and 50.0 percent from behind the arc. Daon Merritt, who is netting 11.6 ppg and leading the team with 157 assists on the year, paced the squad in the win with 22 points and also dished out four helpers. The team's leading scorer, Demetric Bennett (19.6 ppg), added 20 points and 11 rebounds in the win, while Domonic Tilford and Brandon Davis chipped in 11 points apiece. Tilford and Davis have made strong contributions throughout the season and come into this matchup posting 13.2 and 10.6 ppg, respectively.

Unlike their counterpart, the Golden Panthers have been atrocious at the offensive end of the court and are currently averaging just 64.3 ppg, while shooting 44.4 percent from the floor. Alex Galindo has been the top option for FIU, as the forward is posting 13.2 ppg to go along with a team-best 6.9 rpg. Center Russell Hicks is the only other player netting double figures, and comes into this game with 12.6 ppg and 6.3 rpg. The offensive woes for the Golden Panthers continued this past weekend, as the squad fell to WKU, 69-54. In the loss, the Golden Panthers shot just 34.0 percent from the floor, made just 2- of-9 three-point attempts and committed 21 turnovers. Nikola Gacesa posted 13 points, while Galindo chipped in 10 points in the loss. Hicks struggled though, netting just 3-of-12 attempts from the field en route to a seven-point effort.

The Jags might be on the road, but they are considerably better than the Golden Panthers and should have no trouble closing out their regular season with a victory.

Predicted Outcome

South Alabama 77, Florida International 62