Grambling faces Alabama State on 4-game road skid

Grambling Tigers (12-18, 6-11 SWAC) at Alabama State Hornets (10-20, 7-10 SWAC)

Montgomery, Alabama; Thursday, 8 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: Grambling will attempt to stop its four-game road slide when the Tigers take on Alabama State.

The Hornets have gone 5-3 at home. Alabama State is fifth in the SWAC with 12.4 assists per game led by Micah Simpsom averaging 3.6.

The Tigers are 6-11 in conference play. Grambling ranks ninth in the SWAC with 21.3 defensive rebounds per game led by Roderick Coffee III averaging 3.5.

Alabama State scores 73.8 points per game, 2.8 more points than the 71.0 Grambling allows. Grambling has shot at a 43.4% clip from the field this season, 1.9 percentage points below the 45.3% shooting opponents of Alabama State have averaged.

The teams meet for the second time in conference play this season. Grambling won 57-47 in the last matchup on Feb. 7. Coffee led Grambling with 24 points, and Simpsom led Alabama State with 15 points.

TOP PERFORMERS: Simpsom is shooting 33.8% from beyond the arc with 2.3 made 3-pointers per game for the Hornets, while averaging 13.8 points and 3.6 assists. Tyler Byrd is averaging 10.2 points over the past 10 games.

Derrius Ward averages 1.6 made 3-pointers per game for the Tigers, scoring 10.7 points while shooting 32.6% from beyond the arc. Jamil Muttilib is shooting 42.7% and averaging 12.8 points over the past 10 games.

LAST 10 GAMES: Hornets: 4-6, averaging 70.6 points, 33.4 rebounds, 12.1 assists, 7.4 steals and 3.6 blocks per game while shooting 41.0% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 69.4 points per game.

Tigers: 2-8, averaging 67.0 points, 31.5 rebounds, 11.3 assists, 7.1 steals and 2.8 blocks per game while shooting 40.5% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 69.8 points.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.