FLORENCE, Ala. (December 6, 2023) – CB&S Bank Arena will have a youthful energy on Thursday, as the University of North Alabama men's basketball team welcomes Rust College for its annual "Elementary Day" game in Florence.
UNA is anticipating a group of over 1,700 elementary students from nearby areas with a special tipoff time of 11 a.m. This will be UNA's only regular season game scheduled for a morning tip.
Premium Seating at CB&S Bank Arena inside Flowers Hall is sold out for the year, but general admission season tickets and single game tickets are still available. For ticket information, contact
bbond@una.edu, call 256-765-5466 or visit online
at this link.
Parking is available to the general public along the streets of Circular Road and Stewart Avenue, as well as the parking lot in front of Rice and Rivers Hall and the parking garage. Lots A-C at The Bill Jones Athletic Complex and below the arena are reserved parking spaces. There is also paid parking below the Science Building off Circular Road.
GAMEDAY INFORMATION
Game: North Alabama vs. Rust College
Date: Thursday, December 6
Time: 11:00 a.m.
Location: Florence, Ala.
Venue: CB&S Bank Arena at Flowers Hall
Capacity: 2,223
Watch:
ESPN+ — "Voice of the Lions" Benjamin Ray (PxP) & Kevin Johnson (Analyst)
Radio:
WLX 98.3 / 103.5 FM — "Voice of the Rocket City Trash Pandas" Josh Caray
Live Stats:
StatBroadcast
UNA Game Notes:
Click here
Social Media:
@UNA_Basketball
NOTES
SCOUTING THE LIONS: UNA enters with an even 4-4 record with four wins at home and four setbacks on the road. Last week, the Lions took down Tennessee Tech with an 86-71 victory at home. Two days later, UNA nearly made history at Kansas State, falling 75-74 in overtime despite leading for over 30 minutes of game time.
SCOUTING THE OPPONENT: Rust College also has an even record, sitting 3-3 on the year and 1-0 in conference play. The Bearcats are winners of their last two games against Crowley's Ridge and Fisk — both former opponents of UNA in the last decade. The Lions and Bearcats have one common opponent, Blue Mountain Christian. UNA defeated the Hilltoppers by a 93-60 final, while Rust lost 62-59 one week prior to that UNA game.
SERIES HISTORY: UNA and Rust will play for the first time ever on Thursday. This will mark UNA's 18th non-Division I opponent since making the jump in 2018. The Lions are 17-0 in such games under head coach
Tony Pujol.
BALANCED SCHEDULES: While UNA has played 18 non-Division I opponents over the last six seasons, the Lions will have also played 18 high-major and prominent powers by the end of this season over the same stretch. This includes 15 schools in Power Five conferences, two games against Gonzaga and one against perennial contender Memphis. UNA will play Indiana and Texas Tech to close this stretch.
LAST TIME OUT: The Lions took K-State to the wire in Manhattan, leading almost the whole way. The Wildcats tied the game with eight seconds to go in regulation and went on to avoid the upset in overtime. UNA's largest lead of the game was 13 points in the second half, while K-State's largest lead of eight came to open overtime. The Lions erased this deficit and cut it back to one with two seconds remaining, but the Wildcats held on for the win.
Click here for the cinematic recap.
LAST TIME AT HOME: On a day were a transformer issue inside CB&S Bank Arena hours before tipoff created some adversity, including a make-shift scoreboard and clocks situated at press row, the Lions rose above and earned an 86-71 win over Tennessee Tech. The Lions trailed 38-32 in the first half, but outscored the Golden Eagles by a 54-33 margin to win handily.
PLAYER OF THE WEEK: For his performance last week, sophomore guard
Jacari Lane was named the Atlantic Sun Conference Player of the Week for the first time this season and the second time in his career. Lane notched his first-career double-double at K-State with 19 points and a career-high 11 assists, while adding 20 points and four assists in the win over TTU. Lane added three steals and had just one turnover in the K-State game, nearly guiding UNA to the upset win.
NET RANKINGS: The NCAA released its first NET rankings of the season this week, slotting UNA at No. 190 of 362 teams. This marks the highest NET ranking in program history since making the jump to Division I in 2018. The NET — NCAA Evaluation Tool — replaced the RPI system in 2018. The NET system takes into account win percentage, game results, strength of schedule, game location, scoring margin, net offensive and defensive efficiency and quality of wins and losses.
HOME SWEET HOME: Over the last two seasons, UNA owns a 13-4 record at home inside CB&S Bank Arena. In six seasons under head coach
Tony Pujol, the Lions are 25-2 in non-conference home contests and 44-23 when including conference games. UNA is 522-182 at home all-time.
COMING UP ON 100 GAMES: Junior guards
Will Soucie and
Detalian Brown are each closing in on 100 career games, as Soucie sits at 92 games and Brown at 91. The pair have combined for over 3,500 minutes of basketball in a Lion uniform.
DOWNTOWN DETALIAN BROWN: In each of the last two games, Brown has scored 19 points. He earned his first start of the season against Kansas State last Saturday, giving him 11 starts over his four-year career. For the season, he is shooting 13-27 behind the arc for 48.1 percent.
OUT OF THE WOODS: Senior forward
Damian Forrest had his first double-double of the season on Thursday against Tennessee Tech with 14 points and 14 rebounds. Though the stat line did not reveal it right away, Forrest was also a key factor in the K-State game with seven points and 10 rebounds. The most remarkable stat from his line was his plus-minus rating when on the court at a whopping +21 margin. The second-best player for either UNA or K-State ended at +6.
BUILDING ON SUCCESS: North Alabama finished with an 18-15 record last season, representing the most single-season wins since the Lions made the jump to NCAA Division I in 2018-19.
HUNTING ANOTHER POSTSEASON RUN: Last season, UNA played in the 2023 College Basketball Invitational (CBI) to mark the first postseason tournament in the program's NCAA Division I history. Prior to that, UNA's last postseason appearance was an NCAA Regional in 2013-14. UNA has participated in 14 NCAA Tournaments (all Division II), including five Final Four appearances and two National Championship wins.
PUJOL CONTINUES PROGRAM GROWTH: Pujol enters his sixth season as the head coach at North Alabama, serving as the first and only coach of UNA's Division I era. Pujol enters Thursday's game against Tennessee Tech with 67 wins over six seasons.
STRENGTH IN STAFF: The UNA men's basketball coaching staff experienced some restructuring this offseason, including the promotion of
Ahmad Smith to Associate Head Coach and
Sean Foley to Special Assistant to the Head Coach. Additions to the staff include Austin Burnette as an assistant coach, Landon Travis to handle basketball operations and Eric Wagenlander to direct efforts in player development. Assistant Coach
Carter Heston and Director of Sport Performance
Leo Stern also return from last year's staff.
PRESEASON POLLS: North Alabama was picked seventh of 12 teams in the preseason coaches and media poll for the ASUN. The Lions received one first place vote in the coaches poll. EKU was picked to win in both polls.
ALL DAYS OF THE WEEK: UNA's first six games happened on six different days of the week. The only day UNA has not played on is Friday, which will not happen until the regular season finale at Central Arkansas on March 1. UNA has wins on Monday, Thursday and Saturday.
For more information on North Alabama Athletics, visit www.roarlions.com and follow UNA Athletics on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
