MOBILE, Ala. – Sitting just one game out of 2nd place in the Sun Belt Conference and two back of 1st with three regular-season contests remaining, the UT Arlington men's basketball team (13-15, 9-6 SBC) embarks on its final league road trip of the year, beginning Thursday when the Mavericks take on South Alabama (13-14, 6-8 SBC) at 7 p.m.
 
FOLLOW ALONG
The contest will be broadcast on ESPN+ by clicking here, while the Voice of the Mavericks Josh Sours will have the call on the radio at KEXB 620 AM and streaming via the TuneIn App and iHeartRadio. Furthermore, for updates and behind-the-scenes photos and videos from not only this game, but all season, be sure to follow @UTA_MBB on Twitter and @UTA_Hoops on Instagram.
 
WHERE THINGS STAND
After being predicted to finish 2nd-to-last (11th place) in the Sun Belt Preseason Poll, UTA controls its own destiny for no worse than a top-4 seed in the Sun Belt Tournament in three weeks. The Mavericks enter play this weekend in sole possession of 4th place, just one game behind Georgia State and Georgia Southern (both 10-5) for 2nd place and two back of Texas State (11-4) for 1st place. The Mavs head to Troy (4-10) on Saturday before hosting Texas State next Saturday in what could be an pivotal regular-season finale.
 
If the season ended today, the Mavs' #4 seed in the conference tournament would give them a double-bye into the quarterfinals. The top-2 seeds receive byes all the way to the Sun Belt Tournament semifinals; the 3-4 seeds get byes to the quarterfinals, and the 5-6 seeds automatically advance to the second round. Seeds 7-10 will play in opening-round games hosted on the campuses of the #7 and #8 seeds, with the winners of those contests advancing to New Orleans. The bottom-2 teams do not qualify for the tournament.
 
TWEETABLES – 5 Things To Know In 260 Characters Or Less
1) UTA has already clinched its eighth-straight season of a .500 or better conference record (2011-12: Southland; 2012-13: Western Athletic; 2013-Present: Sun Belt). The Mavs are the only team to finish in the top-5 of the SBC standings every year since 2013-14.
2) As part of its double-overtime win over ULM on Saturday, UTA posted season highs in points (91), 3-pointers made (12) and individual scoring performance (Brian Warren, 33). Warren has scored 63 points in the 2 OT games this year; 23 of those have come in the overtimes.
3) UTA is the only SBC team to have three players in the top 15 in free-throw shooting for the year (all in the top 10): 2) David Azore: 83.1; 4) Warren: 80; 9) Edric Dennis: 77.8.
4) The Mavs rank 20th in the nation in 3-point percentage defense (30.2) and are 43rd in the country in free-throw percentage (74.6).
5) UTA has the following SBC and non-conference stat comparisons: 12.9 turnovers per game in conference play (15.9 in the non-conference), 14.3 assists per game (10.5 non-conference) and 39.5 rebounds per game (37.6 non-conference).
 
Bonus Tweet
Through UTA's first 28 games, head coach Chris Ogden has utilized 14 different starting lineups – the 2nd-most starting 5 combinations in the nation to this point (UT Martin: 16). That includes the Mavericks having started the same five players for 10 games in a row prior to mixing up the lineup on Saturday versus ULM.
 
UTA IN THE SBC RANKS
In 11 of 15 SBC games, UTA has held its opponent below its conference scoring average entering the game. Two of those four instances in which it did not came in double-overtime contests against Texas State and ULM.
 
The Mavs rank 2nd in the SBC by holding league opponents to just 69.7 points per game. UTA checks in as the 2nd-best free-throw shooting team in conference games as well at 76.4 percent.
 
UTA also leads the league in conference field goal percentage defense (41.1), total assists (214), rebounds per game (39.5) and rebound margin (+3.9).
 
UTA was picked 11th in the Sun Belt Preseason Poll, and its current 4th-place standing represents the largest increase (+7) among all 12 league members along with Texas State (8th to 1st). Since joining the Sun Belt in 2013-14, UTA has won 65 league regular-season games; only Louisiana (68) and Georgia State (74) have more league wins in that time.
 
ABOUT SOUTH ALABAMA
South Alabama leads the all-time series, 8-6. After losing the first five games between 1972 and 2003, UTA holds a 6-3 edge in the series since joining the Sun Belt in 2013-14. The Mavericks have won four in a row, including a 91-67 triumph last year in Arlington in the season's only meeting.
 
Both USA and UTA have had 12 SBC games decided by 10 points or less. The Jaguars are 5-7 in those contests, while the Mavericks are 8-4.
 
Both teams also feature coaches who are in their first year at the school. USA's Richie Riley spent the previous two years as the head coach of Nicholls State, while Ogden spent the previous two years as an assistant coach at Texas Tech.
 
The Jaguars are coming off a 68-52 win at Troy on Saturday. It marked the first conference win for USA when scoring fewer than 70 points (1-5).
 
Josh Ajayi leads USA at 15.7 points and 7.9 rebounds per game; his 55.8-percent field-goal shooting is the best in the conference, and he ranks 5th in rebounding. Trhae Mitchell (13.7) and Rodrick Sikes (12.3) both average double-figure points as well.
 
LOCKING IN ON D
In 13 of UTA's first 15 SBC games, the Mavs have held a top-10 scorer in the conference below his season scoring average:
 
1) Ty Cockfield (ASU): 22.1 (16 & 27 vs. UTA)
2) Daishon Smith (ULM): 22 (34)
T-4) JaKeenan Gant (LA): 20.3 (11)
T-4) Rayjon Tucker (LR): 20.3 (15 & 11)
6) D'Marcus Simonds (GSU): 19.4 (15 & 1)
7) Zac Cuthbertson (CCU): 18.3 (17 & 5)
8) Nigal Pearson (TXST): 17.9 (15)
9) Tookie Brown (GS): 17.8 (4 & 11)
10) Ronshad Shabazz (APP): 17.7 (16 & 15)
 
DOUBLE-OVERTIME SUCCESS
UTA has played two double-overtime games this month and has won both: 84-77 at Texas State on Feb. 2, and 91-86 versus ULM on Feb. 23. It's just the third time in program history the Mavs have played multiple double-overtime games in the same season – first time since 1998-99 (one of those went to triple overtime) – and only the second time ever they've occurred in the same month (January, 1980).
 
1,000 POINT MILESTONE
Dennis eclipsed the 1,000-career point mark at Little Rock earlier this month, and enters Thursday's game with 1,026. The junior scored 272 points at Hill Junior College as a freshman, tallied 406 as a sophomore at Jackson State and has 348 with UTA this season. He is the second UTA player to reach the mark this year as Brian Warren did so at Gonzaga in December.
 
PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Following a pair of game-extending shots as part of a career-high scoring performance, Warren was named the league's Player of the Week on Feb. 4, sharing the honor with Coastal Carolina's Zac Cuthbertson.
 
Warren poured in a career-best 30 points, but it was eight key points which helped lead UTA to an impressive 84-77 double-overtime win at Texas State Saturday, silencing the largest crowd in Strahan Arena history. Warren forced overtime and double overtime with shots in the closing 20 seconds of each period, and then hit the go-ahead free throws in double overtime.
 
BATTLE TESTED
ESPN recently published an article detailing the toughest non-conference schedules in the country this year, of which UTA ranked the 7th-most difficult; click here to read the full article (note: ESPN+ subscription required).
 
At the time of the non-conference schedule concluding, UTA played an incredible seven Quadrant 1 (Home 1-30, Neutral 1-50, Away 1-75) non-league opponents, based on the NET report (NCAA's new RPI), and all seven of those came on the road – the most in the nation.
 
RE-TWEETS
1) UTA opened its season with a 90-66 win on Nov. 6 over UT Tyler – the Mavericks' fifth-straight season-opening win and 12th in the last 13 years. The 90 points were the second-most in a season opener for UTA since 1994 (99 vs. East Texas Baptist in 2011).
2) UTA started the year 3-1; four of the five times this decade that the Mavericks have commenced a season 3-1 it has resulted in a postseason and/or 20-win campaign.
3) The Mavericks went 21-13 overall last year (10-8 in the Sun Belt), finishing 112th in the RPI and reaching the Sun Belt Tournament Final for the first time in their five years in the league.
4) UTA has posted three-straight 20-win seasons. In the 59-year history of the program, the Mavs have only had seven 20-win campaigns, and five of them have come in the last 10 years.
5) UTA secured some solid early-season showings as the revamped Mavs own victories over perennially-strong mid-major Northern Iowa and a UC Davis team which returns four starters from a Big West Regular Season Championship and NIT appearance.
6) Of the 1,918 points UTA has scored this year 1,857 (96.8 percent) are from players who did not play for the Mavs last season.
7) The 45 points UTA scored at Missouri on Dec. 4 were its fewest since tallying 44 at then-#1 Kentucky in 2014, and were tied for the 6th-fewest all-time in a road game.
8) UTA posted season highs in steals versus D-I opponents in consecutive December games: 10 at #8 Gonzaga and 12 at Cal Poly.
9) UTA's four non-conference wins are the fewest in a season since recording three during the 2002-03 campaign; however, that team went on to finish 16-13 overall after going 13-7 in Southland Conference action.
10) UTA shot a season-high 48.3 percent from the floor at Appalachian State, and followed it up with a season-best 11 3-pointers at Coastal Carolina, culminated by a Radshad Davis game-winning triple with 1.9 seconds remaining.
11) UTA has started 2-2 in Sun Belt play in four of the last five years, but went on to finish .500 or better in the conference each of those seasons – including last year's 10-8 mark and a regular-season championship 14-4 performance in 2016-17.
12) UTA shot 87.2 percent (34-39) from the free-throw line versus Little Rock – tied for the 5th-best percentage in single game program history (minimum 20 made). Dennis contributed 15 of those (15-17) – tied for the 9th-most makes in program history.
13) At Georgia State, UTA lost for the first time this year (now 12-2) when scoring at least 68 points. The Mavs erased a 16-point deficit to take the lead, took a four-point lead in the 2nd half, but couldn't hold on late.
14) UTA posted a +18 rebound margin (48-30) at Georgia State – its largest positive rebounding differential in a loss in any game since at least 2011-12. The Mavs pulled down a season-high 21 offensive boards.
15) UTA held Coastal Carolina to a season-low 22.6 percent from the floor on Feb. 7 in a 74-54 win – the Mavs' largest margin of victory against a D-I opponent this year (previous: App State, 10). CCU came into the game averaging 79 points per game in SBC play.
16) Andres Ibarguen pulled down 15 rebounds – tied for the 2nd-most by any SBC player in a game this year – and added 12 points for the second double-double of his season against Coastal.
17) UTA shot a season-high 47.6 percent (10-21) from 3-point range versus Appalachian State on Feb. 9 It was just the second time this year the Mavs have made double-digit 3s in a game (11 at Coastal Carolina).
18) Last Thursday marked the first time all year UTA's two leading scorers Warren and Dennis were each held to single digits; Warren scored a season-low seven, while Dennis tallied eight.
 
NEXT UP
UTA heads to Troy to face the Trojans on Saturday at 2 p.m.
 
CLEAR BAG POLICY
In an effort to enhance public safety and the fan experience, for all UTA men's and women's home games this season the College Park Center will implement a clear-bag policy. All purses, containers, backpacks or anything larger than a small clutch bag are prohibited, and items must be placed in a clear tote bag not to exceed 12" x 6" x 12". For more information, fans are encouraged to visit UTAMavs.com/BasketballGameday.
 
FOLLOW ALONG
To secure tickets for upcoming games and find out about additional gameday procedures, log on to UTATickets.com. Additionally, for updates, behind-the-scenes photos, videos and more engaging and personal content, be sure to follow the men's basketball program on Twitter (@UTA_MBB) and Instagram (@UTA_Hoops).