LORMAN, Miss. | Jackson State hits the road to face in-state rival Alcorn State on Saturday afternoon just two games back of first place in the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC), facing Alcorn State.

The game tips off at 3 p.m. on SWAC TV.

Jackson State [9-17, 8-5 SWAC] has won two consecutive games and are just two games back of Bethune-Cookman for the conference lead, and are tied with Southern for third place in the conference just a half game back of Alabama A&M. These two teams met back in the conference opener of this season with Jackson State winning that game 89-85, and lead the overall series 57-48 including the last three. This season, the Tigers are led by Daeshun Ruffin in both scoring and assists, averaging 23.6 points [29.6 in conference play] and 5.7 assists per game [7.8 in conference play]. The senior guard. who recorded three consecutive double-doubles earlier this season, is joined in double figures by Jayme Mitchell Jr. at 14.2 points and 5.0 rebounds per game, while Dorian McMillian is averaging 12.3 points and 4.4 rebounds per game this season.

Game Info - Jackson State at Alcorn State
Saturday, Feb. 21 | 3 p.m. | Davey L. Whitney Complex | SWACTV
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Game Notes

• Ruffin is having a special year 24 games into the season as he leads the conference in several categories and is ranked in the top 30 in the country in some. The senior guard currently leads the conference in assists per game [5.7], free throws attempts [198], free throws [171], and points per game [23.6]; while also being second in the conference in assists [131], free throw percentage [86.4], not to mention he is third field goal attempts [380] and field goals [168]. 
• Head coach Mo Williams missed the game on Saturday due to an illness, just the second he has missed since arriving at Jackson State. Associate head coach Trey Johnson took the helm in his place just as he did in that, and when Williams missed time due to the pandemic at Alabama State.
• Jalen Tatum made his presence known as he took the court for the first since Louisville in the second this season. He responded with 15 points off the bench for the Tigers in the win over Florida A&M.
• Mitchell had a breakout game gainst Mississippi Valley State [2.7.26], recording career-highs in scoring and rebounding. The redshirt junior scored 39 points and recorded 13 rebounds, his first career double-double.
• 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.
• 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.
• These two teams met in the conference opener on Jan. 3 with Jackson State pulling out a 89-85 victory led by Ruffin who finished with 31 points. He was joined by a trio of players with 14 points including McMillian with 14 points and five rebounds, while Mitchell and Devin Ree each added 14 points on the night for the Tigers.
• Ruffin, McMillian, and Mitchell combined for 69 of Jackson State's 91 points against Bethune-Cookman.
• Jackson State celebrated a big day on campus on Monday with SportsCenter on Campus in the morning and the game on Monday night, becoming the first HBCU to host College Gameday and SportsCenter on Campus.

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