LIVINGSTON, Ala. - The University of West Alabama Men's Basketball team continues their home slate this weekend, hosting the West Florida Argonauts on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. and the Valdosta State Blazers on Saturday at 4:00 p.m.
No. 8 West Alabama (16-1, 11-0 GSC) enters Thursday's contest after a dominant 70-54 win over UAH on Saturday. West Florida (15-4, 8-3 GSC) comes in after having their nine-game winning streak snapped at the hands of Montevallo on Saturday while Valdosta State (11-6, 6-5 GSC) enters on a five-game winning streak.
UWA continues to be one of the hottest teams in the country as they bring a 14-game winning streak into this week's play. The Tigers' combination of tenacious defense, elite three-point shooting, and rebounding prowess has given teams fits in 2025-26, leading to their 16-1 overall record.
Offensively, West Alabama is averaging 79.1 points on 47.8 percent shooting and a blistering 42.5 percent shooting from three which leads the nation. UWA currently has six players averaging eight points or more with Caleb Parr leading the way. Parr is averaging a team-high 11.5 points per game on efficient shooting splits while Elliot Tulip, Rasean Frederick, BJ Brown Jr., Christian Thompson, and Jakobe Singleton are close behind. Singleton has been a spark off the bench and has recorded two double-doubles in the last three games as UWA's sixth man.
Defensively, the Tigers are allowing 60.3 points per game, while holding opposing teams to 37.9 percent shooting which currently ranks second and fifth in the country, respectively. The motto for West Alabama is defense, so in order to get on the floor, you have to be proficient on that end. Brown Jr., Parr, and Christian Thompson are arguably the top defenders on the team but every player in West Alabama's rotation is active on the defensive end of the floor.
West Alabama and West Florida met in Pensacola, Florida back in December where the Tigers handled the Argos a 60-57 defeat. In that game, Brown Jr., Parr, and Tulip combined for 39 points while UWF's trio of Anthony Igiede, Ryan Payne, and Elijah Wyche combined for 40 points.
Despite their loss to UWA back in December, West Florida is in the midst of their best season in recent memory. The Argonauts are currently second in the GSC Standings off the strength of their electric offense. This season, UWF is averaging 89.9 points per game on 48.8 percent shooting and 41.0 percent from three. West Florida is led by 6'5" Wing, Anthony Igiede. Igiede leads the Argos in scoring with 16.2 points on 45 | 43 | 74 percent shooting splits. The Wing poured in 17 points in the first meeting against the Tigers, but has missed the last two games, putting his status for Thursday's game in jeopardy.
If Igiede isn't able to go for West Florida tomorrow, they will look to Elijah Wyche, Aric Demings, Tim Hall Jr., and Ryan Payne to carry the load. Wyche is second on the team in scoring with 12.4 points per game while Demings runs the offense, averaging 12.3 points and 4.0 assists per game. Hall Jr. is the Argos top rebounder with 8.1 rebounds per game while adding 10.3 points. As for Payne, he's a spark plug from beyond the arch, leading the team in three-point percentage with a 48 percent mark on a team-high 98 attempts.
If West Florida wants to hand West Alabama their first conference loss, they will have to slow down UWA's balanced offensive attack while generating enough offense against a stingy Tigers' defense.
For Valdosta State, they enter the week playing their best basketball after a rough start to the year. The Blazers began the season 1-5 in GSC play, before rattling off five straight wins with victories coming over Delta State, Union, Christian Brothers, Montevallo, and AUM. During that stretch, VSU is beating teams by an average of 14.8 points.
The Blazers are historically known for their offense and that remains the same in 2025-26. VSU's fast pace offense is averaging 95.6 points per game on 48.3 percent shooting. Forward Drew Mills is having the best year of his career, averaging 18.0 points on 53.5 percent shooting. The senior has scored in double figures in 16 of 17 games for Valdosta State and enters Saturday's game after scoring 31 points in back-to-back games against the Falcons and Warhawks.
Alongside Mills is Blaise Wallace. Wallace is a 6'7" transfer Forward from Albany State who is currently second on the Blazers in scoring with 12.4 points per game. Wallace leads VSU in rebounding with 8.4 boards per game and has recorded six double-doubles thus far.
Devon Rainey and Peter McKey are also averaging double figures for Valdosta State while MJ Jones runs the offense.
Tip-off for Thursday's game against West Florida is set for 7:30 p.m. while Saturday's contest against Valdosta State is slated for 4:00 p.m.
