AUBURN, Ala. (November 17, 2024) – The University of North Alabama men's basketball team is heading down to Auburn for an in-state showdown Monday night against the No. 5 ranked Auburn Tigers. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m. inside Neville Arena.
The game will be televised on SEC Network with Dave Neal and Jon Sunvold on the call.
Fans can catch the local broadcast on WLX Radio with "Voice of the Lions" Benjamin Ray on play-by-play. The broadcast will be on 98.3 and 103.5 FM in the Shoals or worldwide on the WLX app and website. The "Countdown to Tipoff" show begins at 7:40 p.m.
GAMEDAY INFORMATION
Game: North Alabama vs. No. 5 Auburn
Date: Monday, November 18
Time: 8 p.m.
Location: Auburn, Alabama
Venue: Neville Arena ("The Jungle")
Capacity: 9,121
Watch:
SEC Network (Dave Neal, Jon Sunvold)
Radio:
WLX - 98.3 and 103.5 FM ("Voice of the Lions" Benjamin Ray)
Live Stats:
StatBroadcast
Tickets:
Click here
Social Media:
@UNA_Basketball
NOTES
LAST TIME OUT: The Lions lost for the first time this season this past Friday, falling in overtime to defending Southern Conference champion Samford by a 97-96 final in Florence. The Lions trailed by 20 points in the first half but outscored Samford 51-32 in the second half to tie the game in the final minute and force overtime. UNA scored first in overtime, but Samford had a 97-96 lead with just over two seconds to go. The Bulldogs intentionally missed a free throw, forcing UNA to attempt a full court heave which missed just after the buzzer.
THE LANE GAME: Junior guard
Jacari Lane scored a career-high 32 points against Samford and is averaging 22.8 PPG to open the season. Lane is the only first team all-conference selection that returned to the Atlantic Sun Conference this season. He will look to become the sixth all-time player in UNA history to earn first team honors twice in a career, and the first at the Division I level.
SCOUTING THE LIONS: UNA has a 3-1 record and returns six players from last season to go with nine newcomers. All three wins were dominant, including a 73-57 win at Air Force to open the season. The Lions are averaging 87.5 points per game to lead the Atlantic Sun Conference while allowing just 70.3 PPG.
SCOUTING THE TIGERS: Auburn is the No. 5 ranked team by the Associated Press, No. 4 in the USA Today Coaches Poll and No. 1 in the KenPom rankings. Auburn is 3-0 with wins over Vermont, No. 4 Houston and Kent State. The Houston game was the only close one of the three, as the Tigers held on for a 74-69 win. After UNA, Auburn will play in the Maui Invitational Nov. 25-27, starting with Iowa State. Auburn is averaging 82.3 PPG with just 56.0 PPG allowed. Five players average double figures for Bruce Pearl's team, led by Johni Broome with 16.7 PPG.
SERIES HISTORY: Monday will mark the fifth all-time meeting between UNA and Auburn. The Tigers have won all four so far with wins in 1959, 1960, 1961 and 2021. The 2021 game was a 77-40 win for then-No. 13 Auburn. UNA was led by current senior
Daniel Ortiz with 12 points in that game.
LIONS AGAINST THE SEC: UNA is 1-4 against the SEC since moving to Division I in 2018. The first and only win over an SEC opponent in school history came in 2022 against Ole Miss, where the Lions stunned the Rebels with a 66-65 road win. Ortiz and Lane combined for 41 points in this game. The other SEC games were against South Carolina in 2019, Auburn in 2021 and Mississippi State in both 2021 and 2023.
LIONS AGAINST RANKED FOES: Since moving to Division I in 2018, the Lions have played and lost to four ranked opponents. Auburn will be the fifth on Monday. The others were No. 7 Gonzaga in 2018, No. 17 Florida State in 2019, No. 13 Auburn in 2021 and No. 4 Gonzaga in 2022.
LEAGUE LEADERS: The Lions lead the ASUN in a number of categories, most notably in scoring margin (+17.3), scoring offense (87.5 PPG), steals per game (12.5), turnover margin (+8.0) and takeaways (18.3). The Lions rank ninth in the nation in steals and 14th in turnover margin.
TOUGH TASK: Auburn is one of the most stout defenses in the nation, ranking seventh in the country with a 33.3 opponent field goal percentage and 15th nationally with just 56.0 PPG allowed. However, UNA has scored at least 73 points in every game and has yet to shoot below 40.0 percent in a game this season.
MID-MAJOR MADNESS: UNA received a vote in the College Insider Mid-Major Top 25 preseason poll and received a vote again last week. Four other ASUN schools were included in the most recent rankings or votes, including No. 10 North Florida following impressive wins over South Carolina and Georgia Tech. Lipscomb was No. 24 in the preseason poll. UNA's last opponent, Samford, is currently ranked No. 21 in the mid-major poll.
DOUBLE DOUBLE MACHINE: Redshirt sophomore
Corneilous Williams, a former redshirt at LSU and transfer from Western Carolina, is averaging 10.5 PPG and 8.8 rebounds. He notched back-to-back double-doubles against UT Martin and Samford, including 17 points and 16 rebounds against the Bulldogs for new career-high totals.
OLD MAN: Redshirt senior
Will Soucie is in his fifth season at UNA and is the all-time leader for most Division I games in a Lion uniform with 120. Soucie is off to the best start of his career with 10.3 PPG over his first four starts this season.
SOPHOMORE SHINE: Sophomore guard
Canin Jefferson has no intentions to slump after his rookie season. The guard is averaging 9.5 PPG over four games, including double figure scoring in each of the last three games. Last season, he only had one game in double figures with 11 points vs. Rust College. He scored 14 points against Point and 12 each against UT Martin and Samford.
LOCKDOWN DEFENSE: In the first two games, UNA held both Air Force and Point below 60 points. The Lions accomplished this just twice all of last season against Bellarmine (69-53) and Jacksonville State (61-59).
ON WATCH FOR A THOUSAND: Teammates
Jacari Lane and
Daniel Ortiz are approaching the 1,000 point milestone at UNA. Lane has 981 career points at UNA, while Ortiz has 951. If Lane scores 19 points on Monday, he will become the 28th player in UNA history to score 1,000 career points in a Lion uniform. Ortiz — who spent his first two seasons at UNA and his junior season at UAB — has 1,180 points when counting last season at UAB.
For more information on North Alabama Athletics, visit www.roarlions.com and follow UNA Athletics on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
