Texas Southern looks to extend streak vs Alabama A&M

Texas Southern (9-11, 6-1) vs. Alabama A&M (5-13, 2-5)

Elmore Gymnasium, Normal, Alabama; Saturday, 7 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: Texas Southern looks for its 13th straight win in the head-to-head series over Alabama A&M. Texas Southern has won by an average of 14 points in its last 12 wins over the Bulldogs. Alabama A&M’s last win in the series came on Feb. 1, 2014, a 63-62 win.

TEAM LEADERS: Alabama A&M’s Cameron Alford has averaged 14 points and 5.2 rebounds while Garrett Hicks has put up 9.2 points. For the Tigers, Tyrik Armstrong has averaged 14.2 points and 4.5 assists while Yahuza Rasas has put up 9.6 points and 8.1 rebounds.

DIALING IT UP A NOTCH: The Tigers have scored 74.4 points per game and allowed 68.7 points per game against SWAC opponents. Those are both noticeable improvements over the 67.5 points scored and 82.6 points given up per game to non-conference foes.ACCURATE ARMSTRONG: Armstrong has connected on 41.7 percent of the 36 3-pointers he’s attempted and has gone 3 for 5 over the last three games. He’s also converted 80.9 percent of his free throws this season.

WINLESS WHEN: Texas Southern is 0-6 when scoring fewer than 63 points and 9-5 when scoring at least 63.

ASSIST DISTRIBUTION: The Tigers have recently created buckets via assists more often than the Bulldogs. Alabama A&M has an assist on 27 of 67 field goals (40.3 percent) over its past three outings while Texas Southern has assists on 40 of 76 field goals (52.6 percent) during its past three games.

DID YOU KNOW: Texas Southern has attempted 23.3 free throws per game this season, the 19th-highest rate in the country. Alabama A&M has gotten to the line far less frequently and is averaging only 15.7 foul shots per game (ranked 251st, nationally).