Jacksonville State (17-8, 9-3) vs. Tennessee Tech (7-18, 3-9)
Hooper Eblen Arena, Cookeville, Tennessee; Thursday, 7:30 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: Jacksonville State looks to extend Tennessee Tech's conference losing streak to five games. Tennessee Tech's last OVC win came against the Eastern Kentucky Colonels 91-85 on Jan. 26. Jacksonville State beat Southeast Missouri by 17 in its last outing.
STEPPING UP: The Gamecocks are led by seniors Jason Burnell and Marlon Hunter. Burnell has averaged 15.1 points and 9.4 rebounds while Hunter has accounted for 13.3 points and four rebounds per contest. The Golden Eagles have been led by Jr Clay and Courtney Alexander II. Clay has averaged 14.1 points and 4.1 assists while Alexander has put up 7.9 points and 8.4 rebounds per contest.
CLAMPING DOWN: The Golden Eagles have given up just 72.3 points per game across 12 conference games, an improvement from the 85.2 per game they gave up in non-conference play.
OFFENSIVE THREAT: Clay has had his hand in 50 percent of all Tennessee Tech field goals over the last five games. The freshman guard has 26 field goals and 29 assists in those games.
SIGNIFICANCE OF 65: Tennessee Tech is 0-12 when its offense scores 65 points or fewer. Jacksonville State is a perfect 11-0 when it holds opponents to 65 or fewer points.
PERFECT WHEN: Jacksonville State is a perfect 12-0 when its defense holds opponents to a field goal percentage of 40 percent or less. The Gamecocks are 5-8 when allowing opponents to shoot any better than that.
STINGY STATE: Jacksonville State has held opposing teams to 67.3 points per game, the second-lowest figure among all OVC teams.
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This was generated by Automated Insights, http://www.automatedinsights.com/ap, using data from STATS LLC, https://www.stats.com
