San José State (2-1, 0-0 MW) travels to the U.S. Virgin Islands this weekend to play in the 2023 Paradise Jam. The Spartans open the tournament Friday afternoon against Abilene Christian (1-2, 0-0 WAC) at 4:15 p.m. AT/12:15 p.m. PT. The winner/loser of the game will face the winner/loser of the Norfolk State and Fordham game. If SJSU wins, the next game will be on Sunday, while if the team loses, the next game will be on Saturday.
PARADISE JAM FIRST DAY SCHEDULE
Friday, November 17 (All games on ESPN+)
Game 1: Norfolk State vs. Fordham - 2 p.m. AT
Game 2: Abilene Christian vs. San José State - 4:15 p.m. AT/12:15 p.m. PT
Game 3: Hampton vs. Kent State - 6:45 p.m. AT
Game 4: Missouri State vs. Florida Gulf Coast - 9:00 p.m. AT
Time Zone - Atlantic Time - 4 hours ahead of Pacific Time
LIVE STATS: Live stats can be found at http://gogriffons.com/paradisejam
LIVE VIDEO: All games will be broadcast on ESPN+.
LISTEN LIVE: : The Spartans will be broadcast over the air on KTRB, 860 AM and streamed on their website at https://860amtheanswer.com/ with Daniel Barrera on the call.
ABOUT ABILENE CHRISTIAN: The Wildcats enter the tournament with a 1-2 record, opening the season with a 64-59 win at Oklahoma State before falling at NC State 84-64 and at home Tuesday night to Prairie View A&M 79-74. Head coach Brette Tanner is in his third season at the helm of the program.
SERIES RECORD - First meeting
HEAD COACH TIM MILES: San José State head coach Tim Miles is in his third season as head coach of the Spartans and his 27th season overall as a head coach. He was named the head coach on April 6, 2021, and made an immediate impact on the Spartan fans as he won his 400th career game in the opener of the 2021-22 season. Miles has a 430-372 coaching record including 31-37 at San José State. He is 40th in the NCAA among active Division I head coaches in career wins at 430.
Head coach Tim Miles coached his 800th game as a head coach in the win over UC Irvine and won his 14th consecutive season opener against Division I opponents since 2009.
DISHING OUT THE ROCK: Alvaro Cardenas has dished out 19 assists this season. He started the year with seven assists versus UC Irvine, then eight against Bethesda and four at Texas Tech. He has 220 assists in his two-plus years at San José State and needs just 39 to crack the SJSU all-time assists lists.
CAREER RANKINGS: Tibet Görener is now tied for sixth all-time in three-pointers attempted at 347, with D.J. Brown. He needs one more attempt for fifth place. Görener needs five more three-pointers made to move into a tie for ninth with Jason Allen and James Kinney at 120.
PARADISE JAM COMPLETE SCHEDULE
Friday, November 17 (All games on ESPN+)
Game 1: Norfolk State vs. Fordham - 2 p.m. AT
Game 2: Abilene Christian vs. San José State - 4:15 p.m. AT/12:15 p.m. PT
Game 3: Hampton vs. Kent State - 6:45 p.m. AT
Game 4: Missouri State vs. Florida Gulf Coast - 9:00 p.m. AT
Time Zone - Atlantic Time - 4 hours ahead of Pacific Time
Saturday, Nov. 18
Game 5: Losers of Games 1 & 2 - 4:15 p.m. AT/12:15 p.m. PT
Game 6: Losers of Games 3 & 4 - 6:45 p.m. AT
Sunday, Nov. 19
Game 7: Winners of Games 1 & 2 - 6:45 p.m. AT/2:45 p.m. PT
Game 8: Winners of Games 3 & 4- 9:-00 p.m. AT
Monday, Nov. 20
Game 9 (7th-place): Losers Games 5 & 6 - 2 p.m. AT
Game 10 (5th-place): Winners Games 5 & 6 - 4:15 p.m. AT
Game 11 (consolation game): Losers of Games 7 & 8 - 6:45 p.m. AT
Game 12 (championship game): Winners of Games 7 & 8 - 9 p.m. AT
40+ POINT HALVES: The Spartans have started the 2023-24 season by recording 40+-points in three halves played. The team scored 48 points in the second half of the victory over UC Irvine and then followed that up with 56 points in the first half of the Bethesda game and a season-high 61 points in the second half of the game. Last season, SJSU scored 40 or more points in 12 halves and was 10-1 in those games (scored 40+ in both halves of one game).
WINS BEFORE THANKSGIVING: The Spartans are looking to best the number of wins before Thanksgiving that the program set last year. SJSU recorded four wins before the holiday, winning three times at home and once on the road. Prior to that, only two teams had won three games before the holiday. The 2010-11 team was the first to accomplish this feat, starting the year 3-0 and played only four games before Thanksgiving. The 2019-20 team played seven games before Thanksgiving and recorded three wins.
UP NEXT: After the Paradise Jam, San José State returns home on Monday the 27th to play North Dakota State at 8 p.m., inside the Provident Credit Union Event Center.
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