Sun Belt play starts for S. Alabama, UTA

South Alabama (10-3, 0-0) vs. Texas-Arlington (4-7, 0-0)

College Park Center, Arlington, Texas; Thursday, 8 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: Texas-Arlington hosts South Alabama as Sun Belt play starts for both teams. In conference play last season, South Alabama finished with 10 wins and seven losses, while Texas-Arlington won nine games and lost eight.

TEAM LEADERS: Seniors Charles Manning Jr. and Jay Jay Chandler have led the Jaguars. Manning has averaged 17.3 points while Chandler has recorded 15.5 points and four rebounds per game. The Mavericks have been led by Javon Levi and Kaodirichi Akobundu-Ehiogu, who have combined to score 11.7 points per contest.MIGHTY MANNING JR.: Manning has connected on 26.8 percent of the 41 3-pointers he's attempted. He's also converted 80 percent of his free throws this season.

SHARING THE BURDEN: South Alabama is a perfect 8-0 when at least four of its players score 10 or more points. The team is 2-3 when fewer than four Jaguars players score in double-figures.

PASSING FOR POINTS: The Mavericks have recently gotten buckets via assists more often than the Jaguars. Texas-Arlington has 45 assists on 80 field goals (56.3 percent) over its previous three matchups while South Alabama has assists on 27 of 73 field goals (37 percent) during its past three games.

DID YOU KNOW: The South Alabama defense has forced opponents into turnovers on an impressive 24.6 percent of all possessions, which ranks the Jaguars 26th among Division I teams. The Texas-Arlington offense has turned the ball over on 23.9 percent of its possessions (ranking the Mavericks 347th, nationally).

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