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ARLINGTON, Texas - The UTA men's basketball team will be looking to get back into winning form Saturday when it travels to Alabama to face Troy University in a Sun Belt Conference contest.

Tipoff in 5,200-seat Trojan Arena is scheduled for 4:15 p.m. and will serve as the second game of a league doubleheader. The UTA Lady Mavs face Troy at 2 p.m.

Tickets to Saturday's doubleheader are available for as low as $5 each through the Troy Athletic Ticket Office by calling (877) 878-WINS during weekday business hours or by purchasing online by clicking here.

Both games will be streamed live on ESPN3, which is available online at WatchESPN.com to most cable and satellite television subscribers. UTA fans are invited to watch the game live at Grease Monkey Burger Shop and Social Club, located in historic downtown Arlington. Food and drink specials will be available.

Links to complete live game coverage, including UTA-produced live audio and statistics, are available on UTAMavs.com. A live radio broadcast of the men's game at Troy will be available throughout the DFW Metroplex on KEXB 620 AM and via the popular TuneIn app on smartphones and tablets.

UTA enters Saturday's game with a 12-4 overall record and a 2-1 mark after suffering its first loss in nearly two months Saturday at Texas State. The Mavericks had won 11-straight games prior to the setback, but remain the highest-ranked team in the Sun Belt at No. 43 in the latest NCAA Ratings Percentage Index.

The loss dropped the Mavericks from second to fifth in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 and eighth in the MidMajorMadness.com Power Rankings. During non-conference play, UTA faced five teams ranked among the NCAA's top 100 - four of which were on the road, with UTA going 2-2 in those games.

"Hopefully Saturday's loss at Texas State woke our guys up and let them know they aren't invincible," said UTA head coach Scott Cross. "Sometimes when you get on a run like we were on you become a little overconfident. On one hand, confidence is a good thing. But, if you become overconfident it can come across as cocky or arrogant. If you don't prepare yourself to play every night in this league, you aren't going to be successful.

"It is going to be a slugfest of a league and our guys have to realize they are going to have to be ready no matter who we are playing."

The Mavericks continue to feature the same starting lineup that has started each of the last 12 games. Preseason Sun Belt Player of the Year Kevin Hervey and senior Jorge Bilbao serve as the team's starting forwards, while senior Drew Charles and Jalen Jones join preseason first team all-league junior Erick Neal in the backcourt.

Hervey leads the team in scoring (15.0) and rebounding (7.6), has six double-doubles this season and has scored in double figures in 10-straight games. The Arlington native set a season high with 25 points last weekend.

Bilbao, a native of Bilbao, Spain, joins senior guard Drew Charles as the two most experienced players on the team with a combined 212 career appearances. A native of Azle, Charles is among the program's all-time leaders in 3-point field goals and is making an impressive 46 percent from long range this season.

Junior Erick Neal leads the Sun Belt and ranks fifth nationally in assists per game (7.1) and is averaging a team-high 31.0 minutes per game. He earned first team all-league honors as a sophomore and has scored in double figures 40 times during his career.

Cedar Hill native Jalen Jones has developed into a consistent threat on both ends of the court after transferring to UTA from McClennan Community College prior to last season. He is second on the team in scoring (12.7) and has surpassed double figures 12 times this year. Jones has started 50 of his 51 UTA appearances.

As a team, the Mavericks are scoring at a 76.6 per game clip and are second in the league in scoring defense by allowing opponents to score 68.2 points per contest. The team's trademark defense is limingint teams to just .408 from the field and a league-leading .287 from beyond the 3-point arc.

Just four of UTA's last 12 opponents have reached the 70 point mark.

Troy is 9-8 on the season and 1-2 against Sun Belt opponents, but is coming off an impressive 80-77 win at Georgia State. The Trojans opened league play with a 1-point loss at South Alabama then fell by just four points last weekend at Georgia Southern.

Among the leaders in most offensive categories, Troy is averaging 80.5 points per game and outscoring its opponents by an average of 8.3 per game. The Trojans have attempted the fourth-most free throws of any team in the league and are shooting .706 from the charity stripe.

Sophomore Jordon Varnado and junior Wesley Person each come from strong basketball backgrounds to lead the Trojans. Varnado, the younger brother of NCAA career blocked shots record-holder Jarvis, scores 14.7 points per game, while averaging 6.8 rebounds and a league-leaing 1.4 blocks per game.

Person, the son and nephew of a pair of former NBA and Auburn stars in father, Wesley, Sr. and uncle, Chuck, scored 13.0 points per game and ranked sixth in the league in scoring last season.

"Troy is scary," said Cross. "Wesley Person is one of the most talented players in the league and is a guy that can go off for 30 points on any given night. Varnado, outside of Kevin Hervey, is one of the best power forwards in the league. He gave us fits down there last year.

"We will have to play great defense and make them take difficult shots. If we can play with discipline and the toughness we are capable of, we can bring down their offensive efficiency. It is going to take a complete effort if we are going to be successful."

Following Saturday's game, the Mavs remain on the road for a Monday afternoon contest at the University of South Alabama. The 2 p.m. tipoff will be televised live on ESPN2 and streamed via WatchESPN.com and UTAMavs.com.

UTA returns home on Saturday, Jan. 21 to host a Sun Belt contest against ULM. The Mavericks have seven home games remaining on their regular season schedule. Single game, group tickets and specially-priced multi-game packages are available by calling the UTA Box Office at (817) 272-9595 or by visiting UTATickets.com.