SEATTLE — South Alabama travels to Seattle to face No. 16 Gonzaga, ranked 16th in the coaches poll and 25th in The Associated Press poll, on Saturday night in a game Gonzaga is billing as the “Battle in Seattle.”
Jaguars Seek First Road Win
South Alabama is 5-4 overall and 0-3 in road games. The Jaguars are coming off a triple-overtime loss at Rice, which won on a 3-pointer at the buzzer ending the third overtime.
Gonzaga is 9-1.
Graves on the Bulldogs
First-year South Alabama head coach Matthew Graves said the matchup is a difficult one.
“Statistically, they are one of the top five teams in the country on the offensive end of the floor,” Graves told AL.com. “They are really skilled and savvy and can hurt you in a lot of different ways. It’s going to put an extreme test on our abilities defensively.”
Graves said his team will have to get back in transition and also deal with Gonzaga’s size inside, noting 7-foot-1 Przemek Karnowski and 6-foot-9 Sam Dower. “We’re certainly going to have our hands full there,” he said.
Gonzaga by the Numbers
Four Gonzaga players average at least 10 points per game, and a fifth is one-tenth of a point short.
- Kevin Pangos: 19.6 points per game
- Sam Dower: 14.9 points, 7.0 rebounds
- Gary Bell Jr.: 13.9 points, 3.2 rebounds
- Gerard Coleman: 10.3 points, 2.5 rebounds
- Przemek Karnowski: 9.9 points, 8.1 rebounds
The Bulldogs average 89.4 points per game while allowing 71.9 and have outrebounded opponents 371-319.
South Alabama’s Leaders
- Augustine Rubit: 16.6 points, 10.0 rebounds
- Mychal Ammons: 9.0 points, 8.0 rebounds
- Ken Williams: 8.8 points, 3.5 rebounds
- Barrington Stevens III: 8.5 points, 2.0 rebounds
- Antoine Allen: 8.1 points, 3.0 rebounds
- Aakim Saintil: 7.6 points, 1.5 rebounds
Tipoff is set for 9 p.m. CST Saturday. The game will be broadcast on 105.5 FM WNSP and televised on Root Sports.
