TALLAHASSEE, Fla. | Jackson State looks to bounce back from the weekend on Monday night when it takes the floor at the Alfred Lawson Jr. Multipurpose Center in Southwestern Athletic Conference [SWAC] play against Florida A&M.

The game tips at 7 p.m. [ET] on SWACTV.

Jackson State [5-14, 4-2 SWAC] looks to keep pace with Bethune-Cookman [8-11, 5-1 SWAC] and Florida A&M [8-9, 5-1 SWAC] atop the conference standings, sitting just one game back alone in third place. The two teams have met nine times since since the Rattlers joined the conference, with Jackson State holding a 5-4 advantage, including winning the last match-up at the conference tournament last season. This season, the Tigers are led by Daeshun Ruffin in both scoring and assists, averaging 21.4 points [28.3 in conference play] and 5.6 assists per game [9.2 in conference play]. The senior guard. who recorded three consecutive double-doubles prior to Saturday, is joined in double figures by Jayme Mitchell Jr. at 12.4 points and 3.8 rebounds per game, while Dorian McMillian is averaging 11.2 points and 4.5 rebounds per game this season.

Dionjahe Thomas, who recorded back-to-back double-doubles prior to Saturday, is averaging 6.8 points and 7.3 rebounds in conference play, while Tamarion Hoover is averaging 8.5 points per game in conference play off the bench.

Game Info - Jackson State at Florida A&M
Monday, Jan. 26 | 7:00 p.m. (ET) | Alfred Lawson Jr. Multipurpose Center | SWACTV
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Game Notes

• Mo Williams and Charlie Ward are two of three head coaches this weekend in the state of Florida who played in the NBA. The two crossed over for just two years during their professional careers with Ward finishing out his career with New York/San Antonio [2003-04] and Houston [2004], while Williams was justuing beginning his career with Utah [2003-04] and Minnesota [2004-05] at the same time. Ward played  11 years with three different teams, while Williams played 13 years with seven different teams.
• Ruffin and Dionjahe Thomas 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.
• Tamarion 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.
• 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.
• Florida A&M swept the regular season series last season before Jackson State won in the opening round of the SWAC Tournament in Atlanta.

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