JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – It’s back-to-back key games this week for the UTSA men’s basketball (3-2), which competes Monday and Tuesday at Edward Waters’ John Hurst Adams Gymnasium in the Jacksonville Classic presented by JustPlay Solutions. The Roadrunners face Abilene Christian (3-2) at 8 p.m. CT on Monday, Nov. 24, following up with an 8 p.m. CT 12th all-time meeting with Georgia Southern (3-3) on Tuesday, Nov. 25. All games in the multi-team event will be streamed live on Pass Tha Ball Live for a subscription fee.
Jacksonville Classic
The Jacksonville Classic, billed as one of the nation’s premier early-season college basketball tournaments, will be held Nov. 23-25 at John Hurst Adams Gymnasium on the campus of Edward Waters University – which was founded as Florida's first independent institution for higher education in 1866. Aside from the Roadrunners, the tournament field includes Abilene Christian, Delaware, Georgia Southern, Southern Illinois, UAB, UNC Greensboro, UTEP, William & Mary and Youngstown State.
On the Air and on the Web
Monday and Tuesday’s 8 p.m. CT tipoffs against the Wildcats and Eagles will be streamed live on Pass Tha Ball Live. To view games, fans can purchase a tournament-wide subscription for $25.99 through the site.
The radio broadcast will appear on Sports Radio AM 760 The Ticket with Andy Everett covering the action live from Jacksonville. The broadcast will feature a 30-minute pregame and 15-minute postgame show – available online at Ticket760.com or via the free iHeartRadio app.
Live stats for both games of the tournament will appear here.
About the UTSA Roadrunners
The Roadrunners head into Thanksgiving week with back-to-back wins, having traveled to Denver for a quality road win over the Pioneers, then returning to the Convocation Center to take care of business against Southwestern Christian. The Roadrunners are averaging 82.6 points on 44.7 percent shooting, collecting an NCAA 32nd-ranked 44.2 rebounds per game. UTSA has defended the arc as well as any team in the American with an NCAA 35th-ranked 26.7 opposing three-point percentage and still moves the ball quick in transition with 15.4 ppg off the fast break. The Roadrunners remain aggressive defenders with an NCAA-68th-best 13.8 turnovers forced per game.
A clear standout through the first five games, graduate student guard Jamir Simpson averages a team-high 18.4 ppg to rank sixth among American Conference scorers, shooting 44.9 percent from the field, 41 percent from three and 77.8 percent at the line. Simpson lists at 42nd nationally and second in the American with 3.2 threes per game. Simpson has scored in double-figures each game and gone over 20 points in each of the last three. Meanwhile, freshman forward Kaidon Rayfield is scoring 11.0 ppg and averaging 8.8 rpg to rank 65th nationally and fourth in the American. Another young player stepping up this season, sophomore wing Baboucarr Njie is averaging 10.8 ppg, 6.6 rpg and 2.2 apg with a team-high seven blocks. Topping the squad in assists, redshirt junior Austin Nunez averages 2.8 while scoring 10.2 ppg.
About the Abilene Christian Wildcats
Opening the fifth season under Brette Tanner at 3-2, Abilene Christian is 3-0 at home but still looking for its first win away from Abilene. ACU was 16-16 a year ago and earned a postseason bid to the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament (CIT) as recently as 2023-24. The Wildcats were picked to finish third in the WAC and have seven players returning from last year. The Wildcats average 76.8 ppg on 46.7 percent shooting, grabbing 39.4 rpg. ACU is a slower-paced opponent but can still get up in transition with 14.2 ppg off the fast break, also focused more on shooting from inside the arc, with only 17.6 three attempts per game.
Leading the returners for ACU, senior forward Bradyn Hubbard was named to the Preseason All-WAC Team after an 11-point, six-rebound average last year. This season, Hubbard is on the same leadership track with a team-high 15.4 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 2.2 apg and 1.8 spg. Hubbard is the only Wildcat averaging double-digits, but he’s one of six scoring at least 6.0 ppg. Junior guard Yaniel Rivera 9.3 points with 1.8 assists, Grambling transfer Cbo Newton is averaging 8.3 points with 4.8 rebounds, but junior college transfer Joseph Scott is picking up a team-high 8.0 rebounds, along with 7.6 points per game.
Series with Abilene Christian
This will be the second meeting between these teams despite the mere 240-mile distance, and it has gone 29 years since that initial matchup in 1996. The Roadrunners and Wildcats played in the Convocation Center and UTSA came away with a 90-78 victory.
About the Georgia Southern Eagles
Entering the third season under Charlie Henry, the Eagles are 3-3 and coming off a 17-16 campaign last year that saw an eight-win improvement – helped along by Georgia Southern’s penchant for shooting threes under Henry. The Eagles are scoring 85.5 ppg on 45.7 percent shooting, but allow an average of 86.8 ppg. They’re still at it beyond the arc, ranking 49th nationally with 10.5 threes per game, hitting on 35.8 percent. On the glass, GS averages 35.2 boards and also force 15.8 turnovers per game. The Eagles will open the Jacksonville Classic against Youngstown State on Monday.
The Eagles roster almost fully turned over, with 12 true newcomers on the roster. Dwayne Williams Jr. and Nakavieon White are the only two back from last season, but former Eagle Tyren Moore is back after playing last season at UAB. Moore and White were named to the Preseason All-Sun Belt Team. So far, it’s Emmanuel grad transfer guard Spud Webb leading the way with 15.5 ppg, 3.3 apg, 2.0 spg and 3.2 rpg – shooting 53.4 percent from the field. Meanwhile, White has 13.5 ppg and 3.8 rpg, along with 3.2 apg. Leading the team with 17 threes (2.8/gm), Moore is scoring 11.7 ppg and has made 2.5 apg. Murray State transfer Alden Applewhite leads the squad with 5.6 rpg, in addition to 11.4 ppg.
Series with Georgia Southern
Tuesday will be the 12th meeting between these programs, dating back to a 1986 UTSA victory at the Convo, 89-76. These teams have met only one time on a neutral court and UTSA leads the overall series 7-4. For five seasons, the schools were both members of the Trans America Athletic Conference – the precursor to the Atlantic Sun Conference. In the lone neutral meeting, March 12, 1988, UTSA defeated Georgia Southern 76-69 in overtime in Daytona Beach, Florida, delivering the TAAC tournament title – UTSA’s first conference tournament championship.
Up Next
The Roadrunners will close out the month of November with a home date against South Alabama, marking back-to-back games against Sun Belt opposition, squaring off with the Jaguars on Nov. 30 at the Convocation Center.
- UTSA -