# 2019–20 South Alabama Jaguars men's basketball team

The 2019–20 South Alabama Jaguars men's basketball team represented the University of South Alabama during the 2019–20 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Jaguars were led by second-year head coach Richie Riley and played their home games at the Mitchell Center in Mobile, Alabama as members in the Sun Belt Conference. They finished the season 20–11, 13–7 in Sun Belt play to finish in a tie for second place. They were set to be the No. 2 seed in the Sun Belt tournament, however, the tournament was cancelled amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

## Previous season

The Jaguars finished the 2018–19 season 17–17, 8–10 in Sun Belt play to finish in eight place. They lost to Texas State in the quarterfinals of the Sun Belt tournament.

## Off-season
### Departures

| Name | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Notes |
| Kory Holden | G | 6'2" | 185 | RS Senior | Salisbury, Maryland | Graduated. |
| Tashombe Riley | F | 6’7" | 210 | RS Senior | Orangeburg, South Carolina | Graduated. |
| R.J. Kelly | F | 6'7" | 205 | RS Sophomore | Powder Springs, Georgia | Transferred to Talladega College. |
| Rodrick Sikes | G | 6'2" | 170 | Senior | Ocean Springs, Mississippi | Graduated. |
| Jordan Andrews | G | 6’5” | 180 | RS Junior | Abita Springs, Louisiana | Transferred to Texas Southern. |
| Abdul Dial | G | 6’3” | 200 | Junior | West Palm Beach, Florida | Transferred to Georgia Southwestern College. |

### Incoming transfers

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous School |
| Chad Lott | 21 | G | 6'4" | 200 | RS Junior | Shreveport, Louisiana | Transferred from Howard. Lott will play immediately in the 2019–20 season. Will have one year of remaining eligibility left. |
| Deaundrae Ballard | | F | 6'5" | 181 | Junior | Atlanta, Georgia | Transferred from Florida. Under NCAA transfer rules, Ballard will have to sit out for the 2019–20 season. Will have two year of remaining eligibility. |
| Sam Iorio | | F | 6'7" | 221 | Junior | Allentown, Pennsylvania | Transferred from American. Under NCAA transfer rules, Iorio will have to sit out for the 2018–19 season. Will have two year of remaining eligibility. |

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Exhibition |||||||||
| Oct 27, 2019* 3:00 pm | | at Mississippi State Mississippi flooding relief | L 75-78 | – | 30 – Fox | 5 – Lott | 5 – Lott | Humphrey Coliseum (1,515) Starkville, MS |
| Regular season |||||||||
| Nov 6, 2019* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Pikeville | W 82–51 | 1–0 | 18 – Lott | 13 – Ajayi | 6 – Locure | Mitchell Center (1,402) Mobile, AL |
| Nov 9, 2019* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Southern Miss | W 75–69 | 2–0 | 30 – Ajayi | 7 – Ajayi | 3 – Tied | Mitchell Center (1,893) Mobile, AL |
| Nov 12, 2019* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | No. 22 Auburn | L 69–70 | 2–1 | 23 – Fox | 10 – Fox | 4 – Mitchell | Mitchell Center (10,068) Mobile, AL |
| Nov 15, 2019* 6:00 pm | | at Chattanooga | L 72–90 | 2–2 | 24 – Fox | 6 – Mitchell | 3 – Fox | McKenzie Arena (2,589) Chattanooga, TN |
| Nov 19, 2019* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Spring Hill | W 98–72 | 3–2 | 21 – Ajayi | 10 – Ajayi | 5 – Tied | Mitchell Center (1,374) Mobile, AL |
| Nov 25, 2019* 10:00 am, FloHoops | | vs. Northeastern Gulf Coast Showcase first round | W 74–62 | 4–2 | 19 – Lott | 10 – Ajayi | 3 – McGee | Hertz Arena (346) Estero, FL |
| Nov 26, 2019* 4:00 pm, FloHoops | | at Miami (OH) Gulf Coast Showcase semifinals | W 82–71 | 5–2 | 21 – Ajayi | 10 – Lott | 3 – Tied | Hertz Arena (578) Estero, FL |
| Nov 27, 2019* 6:30 pm, FloHoops | | La Salle Gulf Coast Showcase championship | L 76–81 $^{OT}$ | 5–3 | 28 – Fox | 8 – Ajayi | 3 – Tied | Hertz Arena (413) Estero, FL |
| Dec 8, 2019* 1:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Richmond | L 57–75 | 5–4 | 12 – Tied | 9 – Lott | 4 – Mitchell | Robins Center (5,056) Richmond, VA |
| Dec 17, 2019* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Alabama A&M | W 89–79 | 6–4 | 24 – Ajayi | 8 – McGee | 6 – McGee | Mitchell Center (1,540) Mobile, AL |
| Dec 19, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Appalachian State | L 71–81 | 6–5 (0–1) | 24 – Fox | 7 – Ajayi | 4 – McGee | Mitchell Center (1,285) Mobile, AL |
| Dec 21, 2019* 3:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Coastal Carolina | L 69–81 | 6–6 (0–2) | 19 – Lott | 10 – Mitchell | 5 – Mitchell | Mitchell Center (1,122) Mobile, AL |
| Dec 28, 2019* 3:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Mobile | W 76–47 | 7–6 | 16 – Lott | 6 – Mitchell | 5 – Tied | Mitchell Center (1,118) Mobile, AL |
| Jan 2, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Louisiana | W 60–57 | 8–6 (1–2) | 14 – Fox | 12 – Ajayi | 2 – Mitchell | Cajundome (3,256) Lafayette, LA |
| Jan 4, 2020 2:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Louisiana–Monroe | L 49–69 | 8–7 (1–3) | 13 – Lott | 7 – Ajayi | 2 – Tied | Fant–Ewing Coliseum (1,411) Monroe, LA |
| Jan 6, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at UT Arlington | W 66–54 | 9–7 (2–3) | 20 – Lott | 13 – Ajayi | 6 – McGee | College Park Center (1,282) Arlington, TX |
| Jan 9, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Arkansas State | W 75–59 | 10–7 (3–3) | 20 – Ajayi | 11 – Ajayi | 3 – Tied | Mitchell Center (1,392) Mobile, AL |
| Jan 11, 2020 4:30 pm, ESPN+ | | at Little Rock | W 52–43 | 11–7 (4–3) | 14 – Lott | 9 – Ajayi | 2 – Tied | Jack Stephens Center (2,525) Little Rock, AR |
| Jan 16, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Georgia State | L 63–72 | 11–8 (4–4) | 19 – Ajayi | 10 – Ajayi | 2 – Tied | Mitchell Center (1,744) Mobile, AL |
| Jan 18, 2020 3:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Georgia Southern | W 74–68 | 12–8 (5–4) | 24 – Ajayi | 10 – Mitchell | 2 – Tied | Mitchell Center (2,093) Mobile, AL |
| Jan 23, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Arkansas State | L 71–75 | 12–9 (5–5) | 23 – Ajayi | 9 – Ajayi | 2 – McGee | First National Bank Arena (3,119) Jonesboro, AR |
| Jan 25, 2020 3:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Little Rock | L 71–73 | 12–10 (5–6) | 17 – 3 tied | 6 – Mitchell | 3 – 3 tied | Mitchell Center (1,934) Mobile, AL |
| Jan 30, 2020 6:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Georgia State | L 73–76 | 12–11 (5–7) | 20 – Fox | 6 – Ajayi | 4 – Locure | GSU Sports Arena (1,829) Atlanta, GA |
| Feb 1, 2020 3:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Georgia Southern | W 79–69 | 13–11 (6–7) | 22 – Mitchell | 8 – Tied | 5 – Mitchell | Hanner Fieldhouse (1,635) Statesboro, GA |
| Feb 7, 2020 8:00 pm, ESPN2 | | at Troy | W 70–66 | 14–11 (7–7) | 20 – Ajayi | 10 – Ajayi | 5 – McGee | Trojan Arena (4,523) Troy, AL |
| Feb 13, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Louisiana | W 78–75 | 15–11 (8–7) | 20 – Tied | 10 – Lott | 5 – Mitchell | Mitchell Center (1,342) Mobile, AL |
| Feb 15, 2020 3:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Louisiana–Monroe | W 50–49 | 16–11 (9–7) | 14 – Mitchell | 11 – Mitchell | 3 – 3 tied | Mitchell Center (1,482) Mobile, AL |
| Feb 20, 2020 6:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Appalachian State | W 78–70 | 17–11 (10–7) | 19 – Ajayi | 8 – Lott | 6 – Pettway | Holmes Center (1,212) Boone, NC |
| Feb 22, 2020 1:00 pm, ESPN+ | | at Coastal Carolina | W 74–71 | 18–11 (11–7) | 22 – Lott | 8 – Lott | 4 – Fox | HTC Center (1,127) Conway, SC |
| Feb 29, 2020 6:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Troy | W 78–63 | 19–11 (12–7) | 22 – Lott | 6 – Lott | 4 – Tied | Mitchell Center (4,219) Mobile, AL |
| Mar 3, 2020 7:00 pm, ESPN+ | | Texas State | W 58–54 | 20–11 (13–7) | 16 – Lott | 12 – Mitchell | 3 – Mitchell | Mitchell Center (3,319) Mobile, AL |
| Sun Belt tournament |||||||||
| Mar 14, 2020 2:00 pm, ESPN+ | (2) | vs. (3) Texas State Semifinals | Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic | Smoothie King Center New Orleans, LA |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Central Time. |||||||||