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Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks – Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Islanders Preview – 03.12.2016

The Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks (26-5) take on the Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Islanders (25-6) in the fourth round of the SthLnd tournament at Leonard E. Merrell Center. The game gets underway at 9:30 pm ET on Saturday, Mar. 12 and will air on ES2 and ES3.

The Lumberjacks easily got past Houston Baptist 104-68 in the 3. Thomas Walkup had a good game, contributing 23 points, six rebounds, and six assists for the Lumberjacks. The Islanders, meanwhile, are coming off a 79-76 win over Sam Houston State in the 3. Hameed Ali led the game in scoring with 18 points on 5-for-14 shooting.

Walkup has really been playing well as of late for the Lumberjacks, averaging 18.8 points, 7.6 rebounds, 6.6 assists, and 2.6 steals over the last five games.

The game should be a matchup of strength against strength, as the high-octane offense of Stephen F. Austin (14th in the nation with an offensive efficiency of 116.3) takes on the stingy defense of Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (third in the nation with a defensive efficiency of 98.6). Also, the Islanders commit the fifth-fewest errors in the nation (TO% of 18.2%), while the ball-hawking defense of the Lumberjacks causes the most (opponents’ TO% of 26.8%).

The Lumberjacks have won both contests against the Islanders this season, including a 104-68 blowout in their last matchup. Walkup was a top performer in the victory with 23 points, six rebounds, six assists, and one block.

Notes

Stephen F. Austin won its last game by a 36-point margin. In games decided by a margin of 18 points or more, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi is 4-1. Stephen F. Austin is 18-1 in blowouts this season.

The Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Islanders have a defensive rating of 98.6, third-best in the country. The Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks have a top-tier offense with an offensive rating of 116.3 (ranked 14th).

On average, Stephen F. Austin has 69.4 possessions per game and scores 1.163 points on each possession. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi has both fewer possessions (69.2) and scores fewer points during those possessions (1.070).

The Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks have one of the best effective field goal percentages this season, ranking 19th in the country with an eFG% of 55.1%. The Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Islanders have a dazzling 5-1 record in games where opponents have a similar or higher eFG%.

Ranked second in the nation, Stephen F. Austin has an average of 19.0 assists per game. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi ranks lower at 206th with 12.9.

Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, the 41st-ranked team in blocked shots, registers an average of 4.7 per game. Stephen F. Austin does worse, ranked 142nd with 3.7.

The Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Islanders make an average of 9.6 steals per game, ranked third in the nation. When the Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks allow 9 or more steals, they are undefeated (4-0).

Written by GMS Previews

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