Southland foes will collide when the Incarnate Word Cardinals (16-12) challenge the Houston Baptist Huskies (16-14) at Alice P. McDermott Convocation Center. Action begins at 5:00 pm ET on Saturday, Mar. 5.
The Cardinals enter this game hoping for similar success after topping Abilene Christian 74-70 on Thursday. Kyle Hittle was the game’s leading scorer with 28 points on 9-for-17 shooting. The Huskies, meanwhile, are feeling some disappointment after their 81-71 loss against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Thursday. Anthony Odunsi led the game in scoring with 17 points.
Hittle has taken his game to another level over the last five games for the Cardinals. During that stretch, he has averaged 21.6 points, 5.8 rebounds, 2.2 assists, and 4.0 three-pointers.
This is the second game of the year between these two teams, with the Cardinals winning the first matchup 97-91. Despite the loss, Odunsi had a standout performance with 25 points, five rebounds, eight assists, and one steal.
Notes
With 71.1 possessions and 1.029 points per possession, the Incarnate Word Cardinals perform worse on both metrics than the Houston Baptist Huskies. Houston Baptist averages 71.3 possessions and 1.080 points per possession.
Incarnate Word has an average effective field goal percentage of 49.9%. Houston Baptist is an underachieving 3-12 when opponents have a similar or higher effective field goal percentage.
On average, Incarnate Word attempts 21.0 three pointers and Houston Baptist attempts 15.0. In games where they have 20 or more three point attempts, the Incarnate Word Cardinals are 10-8 while the Houston Baptist Huskies have a winning 5-3 record.
Incarnate Word ranks 332nd in offensive rebounds, while Houston Baptist ranks 98th in defensive rebounds.
Houston Baptist has forced an average turnover rate of 18.1% this season. In games where its turnover rate is 18.1% or higher, Incarnate Word is an even 6-6.
