South Alabama Jaguars (16-17, 9-13 Sun Belt) vs. James Madison Dukes (23-8, 14-4 Sun Belt)
Pensacola, Florida; Saturday, 1 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: JMU plays in the Sun Belt Tournament against South Alabama.
The Dukes are 14-4 against Sun Belt opponents and 9-4 in non-conference play. JMU ranks second in the Sun Belt in team defense, allowing 61.8 points while holding opponents to 37.8% shooting.
The Jaguars’ record in Sun Belt games is 9-13. South Alabama is 8-3 when it turns the ball over less than its opponents and averages 18.6 turnovers per game.
JMU makes 44.5% of its shots from the field this season, which is 5.3 percentage points higher than South Alabama has allowed to its opponents (39.2%). South Alabama has shot at a 40.9% rate from the field this season, 3.1 percentage points higher than the 37.8% shooting opponents of JMU have averaged.
The teams meet for the second time this season. The Dukes won 88-52 in the last matchup on Jan. 31. Peyton McDaniel led the Dukes with 22 points, and Daniela Gonzalez led the Jaguars with 12 points.
TOP PERFORMERS: Zakiya Stephenson is averaging 7.9 points, 4.3 assists and 1.9 steals for the Dukes. McDaniel is averaging 18.4 points and 7.7 rebounds while shooting 46.7% over the past 10 games.
Amyah Sutton is averaging 11.7 points for the Jaguars. Chrysta Narcisse is averaging 13.1 points and 6.9 rebounds over the past 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Dukes: 9-1, averaging 77.5 points, 37.8 rebounds, 17.6 assists, 9.8 steals and 3.4 blocks per game while shooting 47.7% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 56.5 points per game.
Jaguars: 7-3, averaging 67.7 points, 36.7 rebounds, 13.6 assists, 7.5 steals and 2.9 blocks per game while shooting 41.1% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 62.5 points.
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.