STARKVILLE, Miss. (November 13, 2023) – The University of North Alabama men’s basketball team hits the road for the first time this season on Tuesday, Nov. 14 for a meeting against the Mississippi State Bulldogs. Tipoff is set for 6:30 p.m. in the Humphrey Coliseum in Starkville, Miss.
Both teams enter with matching 2-0 records, as the Lions are coming off back-to-back home wins over Blue Mountain Christian and Alabama A&M. Mississippi State is also 2-0 with wins over Arizona State and UT Martin.
GAMEDAY INFORMATION
Game: North Alabama vs. Mississippi State
Date: Tuesday, November 13
Time: 6:30 p.m.
Location: Starkville, Mississippi
Venue: Humphrey Coliseum
Capacity: 10,575
TV: SEC Network +
Radio: WLX 98.3 / 103.5 FM — “Voice of the Lions” Benjamin Ray (PxP)
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
UNA Game Notes: Click here
MSU Game Notes: Click here
Tickets: HailState.com
Social Media: @UNA_Basketball
NOTES
LAST TIME OUT: The Lions hosted classic in-state rival Alabama A&M last Thursday inside CB&S Bank Arena, leading wire-to-wire in a 83-67 win over the Bulldogs. UNA started the game on a 7-0 run and led 40-30 at halftime. From there, UNA led by at least two possessions the rest of the way.
THE BANK IS OPEN: UNA has an 11-4 record inside CB&S Bank Arena over the last two seasons.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENT: The Bulldogs are 2-0 this season with wins over Arizona State and UT Martin. They are led by Chris Jans, who became one of 10 SEC coaches to win 21 games and make the NCAA Tournament in their first season in the league. The team went 21-13 overall last season and earned a First Four bid, falling 60-59 to Pitt in Dayton, Ohio. The Bulldogs returned 85.3 percent of the team’s starts (145-of-170) from last season and are led by 2022-23 All-SEC First Team selection Tolu Smith.
HIGH ON THE KENPOM SCALE: UNA is currently ranked No. 208 of 362 NCAA Division I teams in the Pomeroy Ratings, which is the highest rating in program history since the recent transition to NCAA Division I in 2018. Meanwhile, Mississippi State is No. 22, which is currently the highest rating of any UNA opponent on the schedule this season and the fourth-highest all-time ahead of Gonzaga (twice) and Memphis.
SERIES HISTORY: The Lions will face a Bulldog team for the second straight game, taking on Mississippi State for the fifth time in program history. The first two meetings took place in 1982-83 and 1983-84, while the others took place in 2008-09 and most recently in 2021-22. Mississippi State owns a 4-0 record against the Lions and a 21-1 record against current members of the Atlantic Sun Conference all-time.
LOOKING TO SNAP THE RUN: The Lions look to join Austin Peay as one of just two ASUN school to defeat Mississippi State all-time. The Bulldogs own wins over nine ASUN members.
POWER UP: UNA will play four Power Five opponents this season, which is the most in single-season history for the program. This group of teams starts Tuesday with Mississippi State, followed by trips to Kansas State, Indiana and Texas Tech. Last season, the Lions defeated Ole Miss, by a 66-65 final in Oxford on a late bucket by KJ Johnson.
STRONG DEBUT FOR SMITH: Graduate transfer Tim Smith Jr. made a splash in his UNA debut on Monday, dropping 19 points and grabbing 10 rebounds for a double-double to lead in both categories. Smith Jr. shot 8-14 from the field and 3-5 behind the arc over 20 minutes of action.
NEARING 1K: Smith Jr. entered his graduate season with 963 career points following a 400+ scoring campaign at NCAA Division II opponent Walsh University. With 22 points in his first two games at UNA, Smith Jr. sits at 985 points and needs 15 to join the 1,000 career club.
ALREADY IN THE CLUB: Mentioned earlier for his bucket against Ole Miss last season, KJ Johnson is currently the only 1,000 point score on UNA’s roster. He has 1,272 career points over five seasons split between Lipscomb and North Alabama. He ranks fourth among active ASUN players and 91st all-time in career scoring by an ASUN player.
FEED FULCHER: Making his UNA debut this past week was junior guard Josiah Fulcher. He had an efficient night in the season opener, shooting 6-6 from the floor with one triple to finish with 13 points and four rebounds. Head coach Tony Pujol also singled out Fulcher’s defense, which resulted in a number of stops at the other end. He followed that performance with 12 points and eight rebounds in the win over AAMU.
STAY IN YOUR LANE: Reigning ASUN Freshman of the Year and ASUN Sixth Man of the Year Jacari Lane played in all 33 games with eight starts last season, averaging a team-leading 16.6 points per game in ASUN games last season. He ranked sixth in the nation among all NCAA freshmen in conference scoring. Lane was selected to the Preseason All-ASUN team last month at the ASUN Tipoff Event. Last time out, Lane scored 15 points in the win over AAMU.
IRON MEN: Last season, the duo of now-junior Will Soucie and now-senior Damian Forrest started all 33 games. The two averaged a combined 15.7 points per game from their respective guard and forward positions. Brown and Soucie have the most career games at UNA under their belt with Brown at 87 and Soucie at 86 following last week. Forrest, in his third season, was an academic All-ASUN selection in 2023.
HOMETOWN HERO: Appearing in the final two minutes of both wins last week, former Mars Hill standout Hugh Hargett sank his lone three-point attempts in each game to start the season 2-2 behind the arc and to excite the home crowd. Hugh’s father, Douglas, played baseball at UNA from 1999-2002 and was inducted into the UNA Athletic Hall of Fame in 2013.
BUILDING ON SUCCESS: North Alabama finished with an 18-15 record last season, representing the most single-season wins since the Lions made the jump to NCAA Division I in 2018-19.
HUNTING ANOTHER POSTSEASON RUN: Last season, UNA played in the 2023 College Basketball Invitational (CBI) to mark the first postseason tournament in the program’s NCAA Division I history. Prior to that, UNA’s last postseason appearance was an NCAA Regional in 2013-14. UNA has participated in 14 NCAA Tournaments (all Division II), including five Final Four appearances and two National Championship wins.
THE ART OF BALANCE: The Lions have 16 players on the 2023-24 roster, including eight returning lettermen and eight newcomers. Of this group, there are three freshmen, three sophomores, six juniors, three seniors and one graduate student.
VETERAN LEADERSHIP: Experience is key for potential Atlantic Sun Conference contenders, and UNA brings that to the table this season with four returning starters. UNA returns 70 percent of its scoring to the starting lineup.
ROOKIES RISE AT UNA: In the last five seasons, UNA leads all ASUN schools in all-freshman team selections with six. This includes current players Lane and junior Detalian Brown. The Lions have three freshmen this season — Canin Jefferson, Drake James and Hargett.
PUJOL CONTINUES PROGRAM GROWTH: UNA head coach Tony Pujol enters his sixth season at the helm, serving as the first and only coach of UNA’s Division I era. Pujol has 66 wins over six seasons and led UNA to an 18-15 overall record in its first season out of the four-year Division I transition period.
THE VAULT IS UNA’S MOST VALUABLE ASSET: Under Pujol, the Lions are 23-2 in non-conference home contests over a span of six seasons. The men’s basketball program often credits this to “the vault” — UNA’s student section within CB&S Bank Arena located behind the UNA bench.
STRENGTH IN STAFF: The UNA men’s basketball coaching staff experienced some restructuring this offseason, including the promotion of Ahmad Smith to Associate Head Coach and Sean Foley to Special Assistant to the Head Coach. Additions to the staff include Austin Burnette as an assistant coach, Landon Travis to handle basketball operations and Eric Wagenlander to direct efforts in player development. Assistant Coach Carter Heston and Director of Sport Performance Leo Stern also return from last year’s staff.
PRESEASON POLLS: North Alabama was picked seventh of 12 teams in the preseason coaches and media poll for the ASUN. The Lions received one first place vote in the coaches poll. EKU was picked to win in both polls.
For more information on North Alabama Athletics, visit www.roarlions.com and follow UNA Athletics on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
