Saturday, December 29th, 5:00 p.m. (et).

FACTS & STATS: Site: John Kresse Arena (3,500) -- Charleston, South Carolina. Television: None. Home Record: JMU 4-0, SC State 2-2. Away Record: JMU 3-2, SC State 1-5. Neutral Record: JMU 0-0, SC State 1-1. Conference Record: JMU 1-0, SC State 0-0. Series Record: First-ever meeting.

GAME NOTES: In the first round of the Jim 'N Nick's Cougar Classic, the South Carolina State Bulldogs will take on the James Madison Dukes tonight at Kresse Arena in Charleston. The Dukes had a five-game win streak snapped the last time they took the floor, as the team suffered a heartbreaking 112-110 overtime setback to Seton Hall on the road. It was just the second loss of the year for JMU, which also fell to VMI earlier in the year, 90-83. Following this tournament, the Dukes will return to league play against Virginia Commonwealth. As for the Bulldogs, they opened their season with four straight losses, but since then the team is a solid 4-3. The last time SC State was on the court, it grabbed a convincing 81-57 victory over Allen University. Next up for the Bulldogs is the kick off of Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference play at home against Delaware State. These two teams are meeting for the first-time ever tonight.

The Dukes are an extremely dangerous team at the offensive end of the floor and they are currently averaging 85.4 ppg while shooting a staggering 51.6 percent from the field. Terrance Carter is one of five players currently averaging double figures, as the forward leads the team with 17.9 ppg and 8.9 rpg. Abdulai Jalloh has been outstanding from behind the arc this season, netting 52.9 percent of his attempts, while posting 17.2 ppg. Juwann James and Pierre Curtis check in with 12.1 and 11.9 ppg, respectively, while James is also leading the squad with 46 assists. Kyle Swanston rounds out the double-figure scorers with 10.0 ppg. The last time JMU was on the floor, it tallied 110 points, but still fell short by two in overtime against Seton Hall. JMU shot well over 50 percent from the field and made 31-of-41 free-throw attempts, but the team committed a whopping 33 turnovers, which was the main cause for the setback. Curtis led the way with 26 points, but also committed an inexcusable 11 giveaways. Jalloh added 20 points and 10 boards, while Carter and James tallied 18 points apiece, while also collecting 12 and 10 rebounds, respectively.

The Bulldogs took a bite out of Allen College the last time they were on the floor, as SC State disposed of its overmatched foe by an 81-57 margin. In the victory, the Bulldogs dropped 52.6 percent of their field goal attempts and dominated the battle on the boards, 55-31. Jason Johnson led the squad with 22 points and also pulled down 11 rebounds, while Phillip Adams came off the bench to contribute 10 points. Johnson has been the only real scoring threat for SC State this year. In fact, the center leads the team with 10.8 ppg and 6.2 rpg. Not one other player is netting double figures on a consistent basis, as the second highest scorer is Carrio Bennett with his 9.7 ppg. As a collective unit, the Bulldogs are averaging 70.0 ppg behind 42.5 percent shooting from the field.

The Dukes are much too powerful offensively for the Bulldogs. As a result, expect JMU to easily slip past SCSU into the next round of this small tournament.

Predicted Outcome

James Madison 93, South Carolina State 61