VSU vs. UNA GAME NOTES
BLAZER GAMEDAY CENTRAL
VALDOSTA, Ga. – After a brief hiatus for the holidays, the Valdosta State men's basketball team is set to return to action at The Complex with a big Gulf South Conference matchup on New Year's Eve at 3:00 p.m. against long-time rival North Alabama.
The matchup will represent the 73
rd meeting all-time between the two teams and will pit two veteran head coaches against one another. UNA's Bobby Champagne and VSU's
Mike Helfer each recently surpassed the 200-career victory mark with their respective programs and have racked up a collective 430 wins as coaches in the GSC. Furthermore, with 89 wins against GSC opponents, Helfer is rapidly approaching his 100
th career conference win.
The Lions (6-3, 1-2 GSC) will enter Saturday's contest with a favorable record of 6-3 on the young season, but two of those losses have come against league opponents. Momentum will be in favor of the Blazers, as UNA dropped their last contest before the break in an 86-71 loss to West Georgia. Meanwhile, the Blazers (7-2, 2-1 GSC) come into their return to The Complex on the heels of a successful 2-1 GSC road trip that ended with a rout of the Union Bulldogs on the road.
Other factors that favor the Blazers on Saturday include VSU's offensive success thus far, along with the fact that the matchup represents UNA's first road game of the season. Valdosta State will look to cut into UNA's all-time 39-33 series advantage with an offensive firepower that currently has the red and black ranked 13
th in the nation in scoring. Blazer guard
Jeremiah Hill's 16.7 points-per-game average has helped lead the Blazers to an average of 92.3 points per game, a number that places them over 10 points per game higher than their average during last year's successful 17-11 season.
Additional points of interest regarding VSU's scoring ability this season include the performance of forward
Saadiq Muhammad, who currently
leads the GSC in field goal percentage by a substantial margin at 64.1 percent. Muhammad falls in just behind Hill with an average of 14.2 points per game, and the pair account for two of six players to currently average over 12 points per game.
In order to take down the Lions, Valdosta State will have to contend with one of the league's top performers, Dimario Jackson. At 48.1 percent from field goal range and 41.7 percent from long distance, Jackson has proven to be a dynamic scorer and is holding steady at an average of 16.8 points per game.
The Blazers will tip off at 3:00 p.m. shortly after the conclusion of the women's game.
