Troy preps for rival South Alabama

TROY, AL (WSFA) - The Troy men’s and women’s basketball teams are playing in a doubleheader this Saturday against rival South Alabama. Both are looking for revenge after dropping contests to the Jaguars earlier in the season.

The men’s team is hurting for a victory as they are just 1-6 in their last seven games and will most likely be without senior forward Jordan Varnado for the fifth straight game.

In the current slump, Troy’s average margin of defeat is 11.6 points per game.

The women’s team could continue to surge up the Sun Belt Conference standings with a win.

Chanda Rigby’s Trojans are just two games back of league-leading Arkansas Little-Rock with five games left in the regular season.

The Trojans still have an outside shot at the number one seed in the Sun Belt Conference tournament, so Saturday is a big game for both programs.

“If we win all five, we are guaranteed, at worst, second place and we could be first place,” said Rigby. “That’s our goal, either first or second, so we can get the bye all the way into the semifinals of the conference tournament. It’s one game at a time, but we need to win all five.”

South Alabama trails Troy in the standings at 8-5. A loss for the Trojans Saturday would drop them dead-even with their arch nemesis.

For Phil Cunningham’s team, Little-Rock is ahead of them, but it’s towards the bottom of the conference standings. Troy is tied with Appalachian State in having the worst conference record at 4-9. Little-Rock is just 5-8.

South Alabama is also at 5-8 in conference play, which gives the Trojans a lot to play for on Saturday afternoon.

“If we’re going to make a move in the standings, it needs to start right now, because they are one game ahead of us,” said Cunningham. “We’re competing with them for positioning in the tournament. It’s just an opportunity to get a win and tie up with them.”

Tip off in the women’s game on Saturday is set for 2 p.m. with men’s game to follow.

Troy Athletics is calling for a “Whiteout.” They are asking all fans to wear white to the game. The first 1,500 fans will receive a white Troy rally towel for the game.

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