SAN ANTONIO -- Winners of five of its last six games, UTSA men's basketball will host Florida Atlantic in a two-game series, starting on Friday at 6 p.m. and concluding on Saturday at 3 p.m. at the Convocation Center. Both games are set for an ESPN+ and Ticket 760 AM broadcast.
UTSA (10-9, 6-6 Conference USA) has won five of its last six games entering the matchup with FAU, including a road sweep at FIU last weekend. The Roadrunners are 8-1 at the Convocation Center in 2020-21 and will conclude the regular season with four of their last six games at home.
The Roadrunners posted a pair of wins in Miami last weekend, including an 87-80 win on Friday night that saw Keaton Wallace chip in a season-best 33 points, moving into second in UTSA history in career scoring. UTSA posted a 90-47 win on Saturday in the finale, marking the largest road win in program history. The Roadrunners got 22 points from Jhivvan Jackson – including 20 in the first half and 16 in the final five minutes – and 16 points each from Wallace and Eric Parrish. UTSA held FIU to 34.7 percent in the win, racking up 19 steals, the most since UTSA had 20 swipes in a win over East Central in 2008.
UTSA is led by Jackson, the league-leading scorer, who boasts 19.9 points and 3.8 rebounds per game. Wallace averages 15.8 points and 5.2 rebounds per game. The pair led the NCAA's backcourts in combined scoring for the last two seasons, with Jackson setting a league record with 26.8 points per game as a junior and Wallace averaging 20.2 points per game as a sophomore. The two players have combined to score 4,355 career points, ranking first and second in program history, with Jackson ranking second in C-USA history and Wallace checking in 12th. In the Saturday win in Miami, Jackson set the C-USA record for made field goals, passing UTEP legend Stefon Jackson.
Sophomore center Jacob Germany averages 9.5 points and 5.6 rebounds per game, with a team-leading 21 blocks. Freshman guard Jordan Ivy-Curry has emerged as a standout in his debut season, averaging 7.3 points and 2.8 rebounds per game. Parrish, a 6-foot-6 junior guard, averages 7.0 points and 4.4 rebounds per game, while Cedrick Alley Jr., a junior 6-6 forward, averages 5.9 points and 4.2 rebounds per game.
As a team, UTSA is averaging 77.1 points, 37.8 rebounds, 13.3 assists, 6.8 steals and 3.3 blocks per game. UTSA is shooting 42.9 percent as a team and 31.9 percent from 3-point range, with opponents shooting 43.4 percent as a team and 34.4 percent from range, averaging 37.1 rebounds per game.
FAU (8-7, 3-3 C-USA) has been idle for three weeks as postponements and cancelations have impacted the Owls league slate. FAU last completed in a two-game split with Charlotte in Boca Raton, on Jan. 22-23, a 66-53 overtime win in the opener and a 74-71 loss in the finale. FAU has won three of its last four games entering the series in San Antonio, sweeping FIU and falling in two at ODU as part of its six-game league schedule.
The Owls have averaged 80.7 points, ranking 24th in the nation, 40.7 rebounds, 15.0 assists, 7.7 steals and 3.1 blocks per game as a team, shooting 47.3 percent and 38.2 percent from range. Opponents are shooting 41.7 percent from the field and 35.4 percent from 3-point distance.
Veteran standout Jailyn Ingram leads the Owls with 14.5 points and 6.1 rebounds per game. Michael Forrest averages 11.5 points and 3.0 rebounds per game, while Bryan Greenlee averages 11.1 points and 2.4 rebounds per game. Karlis Silins averages 9.0 points and 3.9 rebounds per game, with Kenan Blackshear sporting 8.5 points and 4.3 rebounds per outing.
FAU leads the all-time series with UTSA, 7-4, with UTSA winning three of the five meetings with the Owls in San Antonio. FAU swept the two-game series in Boca last year, a 79-64 win in the league opener for both teams on Jan. 2, before an 80-71 win in C-USA Bonus Play on Feb. 27, 2020. UTSA has won two straight meetings in San Antonio, including an 86-74 win in 2018-19.
In the last meeting, FAU posted an 80-71 win over the Roadrunners in C-USA's Bonus Play round of the regular-season schedule. The Owls built a 43-25 lead at halftime and were able to hold off UTSA's charge in the second half. FAU outrebounded UTSA 40-29, shooting 46.4 percent and 14 of 30 from distance. UTSA shot just 40 percent, including a 7 of 26 stretch in the first half. Jhivvan Jackson went for 38 points to lead all scorers, nailing 8 of 16 3-pointers and going 13 of 24 from the field. Michael Forrest led FAU with 21 points.
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