JACKSON, Miss. | Jackson State hits the road for the first of two games in Southwestern Athletic Conference [SWAC] play in Daytona Beach [Fla.] against Bethune-Cookman on Saturday afternoon. 

The game, a rematch of last year's semifinals, tips at 4 p.m. [ET] on ESPNU.

Jackson State [5-13, 4-1 SWAC] enters the week with back-to-back home wins over Prairie View A&M and Texas Southern, while Bethune-Cookman [7-11, 4-1 SWAC] enters the weekend with back-to-back road wins. The two teams have met nine times since 1977 with Jackson State holding a 7-2 advantage, including winning the last four games. This season, the Tigers are led by Daeshun Ruffin in both scoring and assists, averaging 21.6 points [30.2 in conference play] and 5.5 assists per game [9.8 in conference play]. The senior guard. who has recorded three consecutive double-doubles, is joined in double figures by Jayme Mitchell Jr. at 12.7 points and 4.1 rebounds per game, while Dorian McMillian is averaging 11.7 points and 4.5 rebounds per game this season.

Dionjahe Thomas, who has recorded back-to-back double-doubles, is averaging 7.8 points and 7.8 rebounds in conference play, while Tamarion Hoover is averaging 9.2 points per game in conference play off the bench.

Game Info - Jackson State at Bethune-Cookman
Saturday, Jan. 24 | 4:00 p.m. (ET) | Moore Gymnasium | ESPNU
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Game Notes

• Ruffin and Thomas have recorded double-doubles in back-to-back games, with Ruffin recording one in the last three games. Ruffin opened the week with 23 points and 10 assists against Prairie View A&M [1.17.26], before following that up with 22 points and a career-high 16 assists against Texas Southern [1.19.26]. Meanwhile, Thomas recorded 13 points and 10 rebounds against Prairie View A&M 1.17.26], and followed that up with 18 points and 12 rebounds against Texas Southern [1.19.26]. Ruffin also recorded a double-double against Alabama A&M [1.12.26] with 39 points and 10 rebounds.
• Head coach Mo Williams has two sons on the bench [at least at some point this season] with his son KyDarrius serving as a an assistant coach, while another of his sons - Mike - comes in as a highly-touted recruit from Germantown High School.
• McMillian quietly recorded a career-high against Texas Southern [1.19.26] while a pair of players were recording double-doubles. The sophomore guard finished with a career-high 25 points including connecting on 58.3 [7-of-12] percent of his shots from the floor and 87.5 [7-of-8] percent from the free throw line.
• Hoover has come off the bench in conference play averaging 9.2 points a game, while he averaged 15.5 points per game in a pair of games against Alabama State and Alabama A&M.
• The game at Houston [seventh] marked the fifth game against a nationally-ranked opponent after Jackson State has faced [ranked at the time] Illinois [17th], Louisville [11th], Auburn [20th], and Arkansas [14th] so far this season. That is the most ranked teams played in the conference. They have also played the second-toughest schedule in the country according to multiple sources.
• Jackson State was picked to finish third in the conference in the preseason behind Bethune-Cookman and Southern. Last season, the Tigers finished 14-4 in the regular season - finishing second - before falling in the SWAC Championship Game.
• Jackson State has started 13 different lineups in its first 18 games this season, starting the same line-up four times including the same lineup in the first three conference games. The lineup used in the last two games is undefeated.
• The 94 points scored against Texas Southern [1.19.26] is the highest scored this season by the Tigers, however, they have scored 80 or more points in all five of their conference games.
• Jackson State is 2-2 all-time in Daytona Beach [Fla.], winning 84-71 last season.

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