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Stephen F. Austin Basketball
Gameday Predictions: Nicholls State at Stephen F. Austin
How great would it be to string together back-to-back wins, SFA fans? Crazy as it seems, it hasn't happened since the opening home stand versus Longwood and Northeastern State.
The Lumberjacks will get another opportunity today as they welcome the Colonels of Nicholls State into William R. Johnson Coliseum and look to keep the momentum going from a convincing mid-week game against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.
The Colonels are coming off a couple tough road losses, at Sam Houston State and at Northwestern State. Like SFA, they are 2-2 and desperate. Only one of these two teams can emerge with a record over .500 in league play tonight.
Have a prediction to add? Join the pick 'em contest right here.
THE GAME: Nicholls State vs. Stephen F. Austin
THE TIME: 6:00CT
THE LOCATION: William R. Johnson Coliseum
THE BROADCAST: ESPN3 (or WatchESPN App), Lumberjacks Sports Network radio (Q107.7 in Nacogdoches, TuneIn App)
Isaac Niedrauer: Every team is different and comparing too closely is generally unfair, but if anyone in the SLC plays like Nicholls defensively, its McNeese. Against the Cowboys' basic 2-3 zone in Lake Charles, SFA struggled in a big way to get off good shots. Expect a lot of similar looks during the game later this evening.
Still, there are a couple big things working in favor of SFA today. First, this team has clearly been a different bunch at home. For all the road blues the Jacks have faced all season, they've been able to scratch out the close ones at home. When a team's limitations are so largely mental, it's really not that surprising to see them perform more freely and confidently on their own court.
Although there have been plenty of times this season that good practices have failed to translate to game situations, I believe in SFA today because of what I saw on Friday in their practice against the zone. Without any doubt, it was the best I've seen this team look offensively at any practice this season.
During one stretch, the offensive unit was able to score 9 out of 10 possessions on the defensive team. Even where there has been steady improvement over the season in practice situations, that's unheard of for this team that has typically seen the defensive group dominate regardless of player assignment.
Nicholls is a better team than they've been in past years and they're a group that has often played SFA close even in the past. I think the game today is far more about which SFA team shows up than about anything the Colonels do, though. Nicholls is certainly deeper than A&M-CC and I'm not expecting a blowout quite like we saw on Wednesday. Still, I think ultimately this will be another win for the good guys.
Final Score: 75-64 Stephen F. Austin
Jake Rhodes: After this last game, I feel like the roller coaster ride is never going to end. Are they any good? Bad? Maybe the conference is just that bad? There are so many questions and every week the picture seems a little less clear.
One thing I can say with some clarity though, is that this team has the ability to be good, if they can just stay focused for 40 minutes. They could be unstoppable.
Nicholls has been an upstart surprise team this year but playing in WRJ Coliseum against a team that might have just found its identity isn't going to end well for the Colonels. Give me SFA in an easy one.
Final Score: 68-56 Stephen F. Austin
Austin Fenoglio: I think the A&M-CC game showed finally that this team has potential to play at the level we thought they did. That being said, we have only played to our potential once - this last Wednesday.
I think SFA wins this weekend and I think it'll be comfortable. I also think I will remain cautious in my optimism for this team until I see two or three more like I saw earlier this week.
Final Score: 84-66 Stephen F. Austin
Colton Albritton-Felts: Before the last game, I said that if the Jacks were ever to reach their full potential, it needed to start with a win over Corpus Christi. We know now that A&M-CC is either worse than what anyone anticipated going into the season or SFA finally played at a higher level than what they had been.
Tonight's game will be a test of consistency for the Jacks. Can they maintain this level of player the rest of the way out? We'll see. Nicholls is coming off back-to-back losses in Southland Conference play so you can bet that they will be looking to get their season back on track with a big road win tonight. Virtually every SLC game from here on out is a must-win.
That sense of urgency will bring SFA up to the challenge and give them a slight edge. I'll take the home team.
Final Score: 62-54 Stephen F. Austin
The Lumberjacks will get another opportunity today as they welcome the Colonels of Nicholls State into William R. Johnson Coliseum and look to keep the momentum going from a convincing mid-week game against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.
The Colonels are coming off a couple tough road losses, at Sam Houston State and at Northwestern State. Like SFA, they are 2-2 and desperate. Only one of these two teams can emerge with a record over .500 in league play tonight.
Have a prediction to add? Join the pick 'em contest right here.
THE GAME: Nicholls State vs. Stephen F. Austin
THE TIME: 6:00CT
THE LOCATION: William R. Johnson Coliseum
THE BROADCAST: ESPN3 (or WatchESPN App), Lumberjacks Sports Network radio (Q107.7 in Nacogdoches, TuneIn App)
Isaac Niedrauer: Every team is different and comparing too closely is generally unfair, but if anyone in the SLC plays like Nicholls defensively, its McNeese. Against the Cowboys' basic 2-3 zone in Lake Charles, SFA struggled in a big way to get off good shots. Expect a lot of similar looks during the game later this evening.
Still, there are a couple big things working in favor of SFA today. First, this team has clearly been a different bunch at home. For all the road blues the Jacks have faced all season, they've been able to scratch out the close ones at home. When a team's limitations are so largely mental, it's really not that surprising to see them perform more freely and confidently on their own court.
Although there have been plenty of times this season that good practices have failed to translate to game situations, I believe in SFA today because of what I saw on Friday in their practice against the zone. Without any doubt, it was the best I've seen this team look offensively at any practice this season.
During one stretch, the offensive unit was able to score 9 out of 10 possessions on the defensive team. Even where there has been steady improvement over the season in practice situations, that's unheard of for this team that has typically seen the defensive group dominate regardless of player assignment.
Nicholls is a better team than they've been in past years and they're a group that has often played SFA close even in the past. I think the game today is far more about which SFA team shows up than about anything the Colonels do, though. Nicholls is certainly deeper than A&M-CC and I'm not expecting a blowout quite like we saw on Wednesday. Still, I think ultimately this will be another win for the good guys.
Final Score: 75-64 Stephen F. Austin
Jake Rhodes: After this last game, I feel like the roller coaster ride is never going to end. Are they any good? Bad? Maybe the conference is just that bad? There are so many questions and every week the picture seems a little less clear.
One thing I can say with some clarity though, is that this team has the ability to be good, if they can just stay focused for 40 minutes. They could be unstoppable.
Nicholls has been an upstart surprise team this year but playing in WRJ Coliseum against a team that might have just found its identity isn't going to end well for the Colonels. Give me SFA in an easy one.
Final Score: 68-56 Stephen F. Austin
Austin Fenoglio: I think the A&M-CC game showed finally that this team has potential to play at the level we thought they did. That being said, we have only played to our potential once - this last Wednesday.
I think SFA wins this weekend and I think it'll be comfortable. I also think I will remain cautious in my optimism for this team until I see two or three more like I saw earlier this week.
Final Score: 84-66 Stephen F. Austin
Colton Albritton-Felts: Before the last game, I said that if the Jacks were ever to reach their full potential, it needed to start with a win over Corpus Christi. We know now that A&M-CC is either worse than what anyone anticipated going into the season or SFA finally played at a higher level than what they had been.
Tonight's game will be a test of consistency for the Jacks. Can they maintain this level of player the rest of the way out? We'll see. Nicholls is coming off back-to-back losses in Southland Conference play so you can bet that they will be looking to get their season back on track with a big road win tonight. Virtually every SLC game from here on out is a must-win.
That sense of urgency will bring SFA up to the challenge and give them a slight edge. I'll take the home team.
Final Score: 62-54 Stephen F. Austin
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