SAN ANTONIO – Fresh off a slump-snapping road win at Houston Christian and the Thanksgiving holiday, the UTSA men’s basketball team (2-3) return to the Convocation Center for the first time since opening night, hosting the Roadrunner/Cardinal Classic starting Friday. The Roadrunners will open up against newly-minted Conference USA foe Jacksonville State at 12 p.m. on Friday, following-up with a 3 p.m. Saturday matchup against cross-town Southland Conference opposition from Incarnate Word (UIW). Both games will air on UTSA radio and be streamed live on ESPN+.
In addition, Jax State and UIW will meet on the final day of the tournament with a 3 p.m. Sunday tipoff and free admission at the Convocation Center.
On the Air and the Web
Friday’s non-conference tournament opener was moved up to noon due to overlap with UTSA football’s crucial season finale at Tulane, scheduled for a 2:30 p.m. kickoff on ABC.
The Jacksonville State game will tip off at 12 p.m. and will air live on the radio on The Bull 93.3 with Jay Howard doing play-by-play, alongside analyst Tim Carter. The broadcast will also be available online at TheBullCountry.iheart.com. Saturday’s UIW contest will tip off at 3 p.m. and air live on Sports Radio AM 760 The Ticket with Andy Everett doing play-by-play and Carter as an analyst; the broadcast will be available online at Ticket760.com. Both games will feature a 30-minute pregame and 15-minute postgame show and can be found via the free iHeartRadio app.
To watch the game live on ESPN+ subscribers can catch the Roadrunners on the streaming platform: Friday vs. Jacksonville State / Saturday vs. UIW. Karl Schoening (play-by-play) will be on the call alongside UTSA and San Antonio Sports Hall of Famer Devin Brown (analyst) for both games.
UTSA Athletics will also provide live stats from the Convo: Friday / Saturday.
In-Laws Ticket Special
Are your in-laws visiting for the holidays? Will too much time stuck at home drive you mad? We have a solution! Send them to the Convocation Center to watch a pair of exciting men’s basketball games at discounted ticket prices, starting at just $6.
Men's Basketball Tickets:
UTSA Men’s Basketball Home Schedule
Season Tickets
Direct Link: https://goutsa.com/mbbseasontix
Reserved (lower level): $115
Courtside Seating for Roadrunner Athletic Fund members: $300
Single-Game Tickets
Direct Link: https://bit.ly/UTSATix
Single Game Adult $13
Single Game Military/Youth (ages 3-18)/Senior (ages 65+): $11
Students: Free Admission with UTSA ID, download tickets at goUTSA.com/studentlogin.
Last Time Out
‣ The Roadrunners stayed in front for over 36 minutes of Monday’s final outing of the four-game road swing, topping Houston Christian at Sharp Gym, 89-87.
‣ UTSA snapped a three-game road slide with the win over the HCU Huskies.
‣ There were three lead changes and three ties in Monday’s contest.
‣ The Roadrunners shot a season-best 49.3 percent from the field at HCU, while the Huskies hit 44.1 percent of their shots.
‣ While UTSA maintained the upper hand, the Huskies battled back from double-digit deficits four times in the second half and had an opportunity to tie in the closing seconds.
‣ Graduate guard/forward Dre Fuller Jr. went off in the second half, scoring 18 of his career-high 24 points after halftime. Fuller shot 8-for-15 with three from long range and also accounted for four rebounds, two assists and two blocks in the win.
‣ Carlton Linguard Jr. and Chandler Cuthrell also registered double-figure scoring and six rebounds apiece against the Huskies.
‣ Junior guard Christian Tucker reached his career high of eight assists for the second time this season, on top of scoring 15 points with a season-best five rebounds.
‣ Registering at least three assists in every game this year, Tucker sits atop the American Athletic Conference leader boards in both assists (30) and assists per game (6.0), ranking 18th and 23rd in the NCAA, respectively.
‣ Limiting his turnover count to seven (1.4 TO per game), Tucker also ranks 36th nationally and fourth in the AAC with a 4.29 assist-to-turnover ratio.
‣ One more Tucker stat; the junior has shot a team-high 27-for-32 (.844) at the free throw line, tallying the 40th-highest free throws made total in the NCAA, fourth in the AAC.
‣ For the second game in a row, the Roadrunners heard officials’ whistles too much, called for 27 fouls after being whistled 29 times at Texas State.
‣ As a team, UTSA is only committing 10.4 turnovers per game, which is fourth in the AAC and 65th in the NCAA.
Series History with This Weekend’s Opponents
Friday will be the first meeting between UTSA and Jacksonville State. The Gamecocks joined Conference USA this season as the conference replaced the six schools departing for the American Athletic Conference – including UTSA. Despite less than 20 miles of cross-town separation, UIW and UTSA are meeting for only the second time in history as regular-season opponents on the hardwood. The Cardinals are relatively new to Division I, beginning their upward transition in the 2013-14 academic year. The Roadrunners and Cardinals faced off previously last season with a 68-62 UTSA win on Nov. 28 at the Convocation Center.
Scouting Jacksonville State
‣ The Gamecocks faced UIW for the first of two times this week, playing on Wednesday night at the Alice P. McDermott Convocation Center. UIW slipped past Jax State with a 67-66 win.
‣ Jax State is 1-4 in the eighth season under head coach Ray Harper after losses to Utah Tech, West Virginia, North Alabama and UIW.
‣ At guard, graduate student Kyky Tandy leads the team in scoring, shooting 42.4 percent with 10 from long range for a 16.0 ppg average since coming over from Xavier.
‣ Lipscomb transfer guard Quincy Clark also chips in 11.8 ppg, shooting 54.3 percent from the field – and perfect so far (4-of-4) from beyond the arc.
‣ After playing 31 games at forward last season, junior Marcellus Brigham Jr. tops the Gamecocks on the glass, registering 6.0 rpg.
‣ As a team, Jax State shoots 42.9 percent, with opponents shooting 41.9 percent. They have a slight edge in the rebound margin, ahead 36.5 to 33.3. The Gamecocks average 15.5 turnovers per outing.
Scouting Incarnate Word
‣ The Cardinals hosted Jacksonville State at home in Alice P. McDermott Convocation Center on Wednesday night, squeezing out a 67-66 win over the Gamecocks
‣ UIW is 3-2 to start the season under first-year head coach Shane Heirman after losses at Texas and Tulsa. Heirman arrived in San Antonio after assistant stops at Central Michigan and DePaul. UIW was 12-19 last year.
‣ Junior college transfer Sky Wicks from State College of Florida is lighting up the stat boards, averaging a team-best 22.5 ppg on 47.8 percent shooting from the field and 43.5 shooting from three – while also leading the Cardinals with 8.3 rpg. Wicks opened the season with a 26-point, 11-rebound double-double at Texas.
‣ Another addition from the junior college ranks, junior guard Josiah Hammons is averaging 15.8 ppg.
‣ A graduate transfer from Austin Peay, forward Shon Robinson chips in 14.5 ppg and 8.0 rpg.
‣ As a team, UIW is shooting 43.6 percent, but only 33.3 percent from three while averaging 82.8 ppg with a lead margin of 3.5. The Cardinals have a 44.5 to 35.8 rebounding advantage so far. UIW averages 15.8 turnovers per game.
Up Next
UTSA will have a little under a week before their next competition, facing a rematch against Lamar in a double-header alongside the women’s Battle of I-35 against Texas State. UTSA-Lamar will tip off at 8 p.m. LU edged past the Roadrunners with a 90-82 win in Beaumont on Nov. 14.
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