College basketball week ahead: JU takes three-game winning streak to Alabama-Birmingham
Jacksonville University is currently on the longest winning streak among men’s teams on the First Coast at three, and will put that to the test on Wednesday at Alabama-Birmingham.
The Dolphins (3-1) will play the Blazers (5-1) for the first time since 2017 but it will be the 35th meeting. They were both members of the Sun Belt from 1979-1991 and JU went 8-21 in those conference games. They have since met on a non-conference basis five times since 1995 and the Blazers are on a seven-game winning streak against the Dolphins.
Former Ole Miss coach Andy Kennedy is in his first season at UAB, and went 22-7 and 27-8 in his first two. The Blazers won the Conference USA tournament last season and lost to Houston in the first round of the NCAA tournament. Already this season, UAB has knocked off Georgia 87-73.
It’s going to be a tough out for the Dolphins: UAB is 34-4 at home under Kennedy. Senior guard Jordan Walker, who has also played at Seton Hall and Tulane, leads the Blazers with 24.5 points per game.
Men
Player of the week: North Florida junior guard Jarius Hicklen scored 41 points in road games against Duquesne and Kentucky, shooting 13 of 25 overall and making eight of 16 3-point attempts. He had 24 points in the loss to the Dukes. Hicklen leads UNF in scoring with 15.6 points per game.
Stat line of the week: Junior forward Tyler Collier of Flagler had 10 points, 12 rebounds, four assists and made five of seven shots from the floor in an 86-50 victory over Savannah State.
Noting UNF (1-4): The Ospreys' heartbreaker 83-82 loss at Duquesne gave them back-to-back single-digit road losses to non-conference Division I teams in which they led at the half. UNF lost at Washington 75-67 on Nov. 11. The score against Duquesne was tied 18 times, with 23 lead changes.
Noting JU (3-1): Senior guard Kevion Nolan regained his form on offense. After making only four of 18 shots overall in the first two games, he's made 13 of 26 in the last two, a 91-61 victory over Voorhees (S.C.) and a 64-43 victory over Campbell (N.C.). Nolan had 20 points against Campbell, the 22nd time under coach Jordan Mincey that the Dolphins have held a team under 60 points. JU is 21-1 in those games.
Noting Edward Waters (1-2): The Tigers nearly pulled off a comeback for the ages in an 88-85 loss to Central State in Wilburforce, Ohio. EWU trailed by 32 points, 67–35 with 15:01 left but sophomore guard Tavares Oliver led a rally by scoring 11 of his game-high 32 points during a 33-8 run. The Tigers eventually cut the score to 86-85 with 26 seconds left when Oliver scored a 3-pointer but that was the last gasp. Senior guard Felix Hayes added 24 points, nine rebounds, three assists and two steals.
Noting Trinity Baptist (2-5): The Eagles led by as many as even points against Thomas (Ga.) University but had 20 turnovers for the game and shot .345 in the second half in a 73-57 loss. Junior guard Zach Kiadii, a Westside High graduate, had 15 points, seven rebounds and three assists.
Noting Flagler (4-3): The Saint shot a blistering .617 in the second half of their victory over Savannah State, with six players in double figures and Collier and sophomore forward Kyle Young (11 points, 11 rebounds) posting double-doubles. Flagler outscored Savannah 48-22 in the paint and shot .702 inside the 3-point arc.
This week’s schedule
Monday
Edward Waters at Kentucky State, 7:30 p.m.
Tuesday
Trinity Baptist at North Florida, 7 p.m.
Wednesday
Jacksonville at Alabama-Birmingham, 7:30 p.m.
Thursday
Flagler at Savannah State, 6 p.m.
Florida Gateway College at Trinity Baptist, 7 p.m.
Saturday
North Florida at High Point (N.C.), 2 p.m.
Miles (Ala.) at Edward Waters, 3 p.m.
Trinity Baptist at Jacksonville, 4 p.m.
Flagler at Rollins, 7 p.m.
Women
Player of the week: JU sophomore guard/forward Khalela Hayes scored a career-high 28 points and made 13 of 14 from the floor in the Dolphins' 73-55 victory over Warner, then added 21 points and 10 rebounds in a 75-62 victory over Bethune-Cookman. Hayes tied the third-highest single-game points total in program history against Warner and made the second-most field goals in one game. She made .758 of her shots in the two games (22 of 29).
Stat line of the week: Sophomore guard Sara Pedraza of Flagler had 23 points, six rebounds, four assists and made 11 of 12 free throws in a 73-59 loss to Florida Tech.
Noting UNF (1-4): Transfer Lyric Swann has scored in double figures in the Ospreys’ first five games, tying the school’s Division I record for the most consecutive games in double figures to start a season.games and leads the Ospreys with 16.8 per game after she scored 20 in a 79-56 loss to St. Joseph’s on Sunday. St. Joe’s made .524 of it’s 3-point attempts and six players had at least one 3-pointer.
Noting JU (4-2): The Dolphins are showing balance on offense as usual through the first six games. Senior forward Shynia Jackson leads the team at 13.8 points per game, senior guard DeShari Graham is at 13.2, senior guard Seraphine Bastin is 11.8 and Hayes is 11.7. JU’s victory over Bethune-Cookman on Sunday was its fifth in the last seven meetings with the Wildcats.
Noting Edward Waters (4-2): Central State (Ohio) outscored the Tigers 17-11 in the fourth quarter to win 82-74. Tatum Hayes had 20 points to lead EWU, five nights after she had 31 points in a 73-66 victory over Clinton (S.C.). Hayes, a transfer from Bethune-Cookman, made 13 of 24 3-pointers in the two games.
Noting Trinity Baptist (3-3): The Eagles did not have a game last week. Five of their next seven games are at home.
Noting Flagler (1-6): The Saints had the busiest schedule of the week with three games, all losses by an average margin of 14 points. In a 74-57 loss to Sioux Falls (S.D.) at the Bahama House Invitational in Daytona Beach, senior guard N’Mya Pierce had 14 points and 14 rebounds.
This week’s games
Monday
Edward Waters at Kentucky State, 5:30 p.m.
Tuesday
Florida State College Jacksonville at Trinity Baptist, 7 p.m.
Wednesday
Emory & Henry at Flagler, 3 p.m.
Thursday
North Florida at Bethune-Cookman, 5:30 p.m.
Saturday
Sunday
North Florida at Miami, 2 p.m.
Contact Garry Smits at gsmits@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter @GSmitter.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: College basketball week ahead: JU takes three-game winning streak to UAB
