I watched some of their game at Northwestern on Thursday (I think the replay is still up on southland.org/live). They played the Demons better than we did. I don't have a great feeling about tonight.
Photo by SFA Athletics
Stephen F. Austin Basketball
Lumberjacks begin three-game road swing at SELA tonight
THE GAME: Stephen F. Austin at Southeastern Louisiana
THE TIME: 5:00CT
THE LOCATION: University Center (Hammond, LA)
THE BROADCAST: Stream on YouTube (click here)
Shortly after the Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks defeated Lamar on Thursday evening, I tried to ask head coach Kyle Keller about his thoughts on playing three-straight on the road.
SFA has had no shortage of road struggles, claiming just three victories all season away from William R. Johnson Coliseum. With so much at stake in the final weeks of the season, I was curious how the team would approach this most difficult stretch of the 2016-17 basketball year from a mental standpoint.
Keller cut me off. "We got one game," he said. "We got a game on Saturday. We ain't gonna look past Southeastern Louisiana."
In a sense, he answered me though. How is the team going to handle its final road trip? How are they going to fight against the realistic possibility of going 0-3 and falling out of title contention over the next week?
One game at a time. It's all they can do.
Southeastern Louisiana has gone from surprise team of the year to fighting for their postseason lives. After starting 5-2 on the season, it took beating Northwestern State on Thursday for them to climb back to .500 at 7-7. What's crazy about the whole thing is that despite a stretch of losing five of six, Southeastern is actually a pretty good team. Their best in a long, long time.
You don't really need to look a whole lot further than the margin of victories (or defeats, in this case) during those low points for the Lions this season. Three points to Sam Houston State, two points to Central Arkansas, five at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. Hell, they beat Nicholls by 28. Even during the three game losing streak that was snapped with their Northwestern State win this week, a few good breaks and the Lions could be in an entirely different standings situation.
But as it stands, with eight teams in the Southland Conference over the .500 mark, the Lions need a win tonight as much as anyone. It's senior night (with another home game still to play - go figure) and should be the biggest crowd in Hammond all season. For a team with the road struggles of the Lumberjacks, tonight will be a mental exam.
Southeastern is a largely balanced scoring team. That's generally not a good matchup for Keller's squad that takes pride in denying superstar players the ball. Sophomore point guard Marlain Veal, just 5-foot-9 and 145 pounds, paces the Lions scoring with 13.3 points per game. He averages nearly five assists per night but he'll also turn over the ball.
For the most part, the Lions are a fairly small team. Their best scoring forwards, Davon Hayes (who really plays like a guard) and Moses Greenwood stand at 6-foot-6 and 6-foot-7. Although he's no prolific scorer, the Lions also have 6-foot-10, 250 pound Dominic Nelson, who averages nearly 23 minutes per game.
Southeastern shoots 37% from behind the arc and hold their opponents to 33%. They trail just SFA and New Orleans in scoring defense since conference play started, and even with all the losses, still sit fifth in scoring margin.
Southeastern Louisiana head coach Jay Ladner has improved his team in each of his three seasons at the helm. The Lions finished 9-9 a year ago. For their team to come anywhere close to the preseason goal, winning tonight against SFA is a must. I don't have to tell you, who I presume to be an SFA fan, that this game is equally important for the Lumberjacks, sitting a game back of the lead.
The game will stream live on YouTube (see link at the top) at 5:00PM with the women playing just before at 3:00PM.
Yes, its the first game of a dangerous three-game road stretch. But today, tonight, they got one game. Nothing beyond that matters until beyond that.
THE TIME: 5:00CT
THE LOCATION: University Center (Hammond, LA)
THE BROADCAST: Stream on YouTube (click here)
Shortly after the Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks defeated Lamar on Thursday evening, I tried to ask head coach Kyle Keller about his thoughts on playing three-straight on the road.
SFA has had no shortage of road struggles, claiming just three victories all season away from William R. Johnson Coliseum. With so much at stake in the final weeks of the season, I was curious how the team would approach this most difficult stretch of the 2016-17 basketball year from a mental standpoint.
Keller cut me off. "We got one game," he said. "We got a game on Saturday. We ain't gonna look past Southeastern Louisiana."
In a sense, he answered me though. How is the team going to handle its final road trip? How are they going to fight against the realistic possibility of going 0-3 and falling out of title contention over the next week?
One game at a time. It's all they can do.
Southeastern Louisiana has gone from surprise team of the year to fighting for their postseason lives. After starting 5-2 on the season, it took beating Northwestern State on Thursday for them to climb back to .500 at 7-7. What's crazy about the whole thing is that despite a stretch of losing five of six, Southeastern is actually a pretty good team. Their best in a long, long time.
You don't really need to look a whole lot further than the margin of victories (or defeats, in this case) during those low points for the Lions this season. Three points to Sam Houston State, two points to Central Arkansas, five at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. Hell, they beat Nicholls by 28. Even during the three game losing streak that was snapped with their Northwestern State win this week, a few good breaks and the Lions could be in an entirely different standings situation.
But as it stands, with eight teams in the Southland Conference over the .500 mark, the Lions need a win tonight as much as anyone. It's senior night (with another home game still to play - go figure) and should be the biggest crowd in Hammond all season. For a team with the road struggles of the Lumberjacks, tonight will be a mental exam.
Southeastern is a largely balanced scoring team. That's generally not a good matchup for Keller's squad that takes pride in denying superstar players the ball. Sophomore point guard Marlain Veal, just 5-foot-9 and 145 pounds, paces the Lions scoring with 13.3 points per game. He averages nearly five assists per night but he'll also turn over the ball.
For the most part, the Lions are a fairly small team. Their best scoring forwards, Davon Hayes (who really plays like a guard) and Moses Greenwood stand at 6-foot-6 and 6-foot-7. Although he's no prolific scorer, the Lions also have 6-foot-10, 250 pound Dominic Nelson, who averages nearly 23 minutes per game.
Southeastern shoots 37% from behind the arc and hold their opponents to 33%. They trail just SFA and New Orleans in scoring defense since conference play started, and even with all the losses, still sit fifth in scoring margin.
Southeastern Louisiana head coach Jay Ladner has improved his team in each of his three seasons at the helm. The Lions finished 9-9 a year ago. For their team to come anywhere close to the preseason goal, winning tonight against SFA is a must. I don't have to tell you, who I presume to be an SFA fan, that this game is equally important for the Lumberjacks, sitting a game back of the lead.
The game will stream live on YouTube (see link at the top) at 5:00PM with the women playing just before at 3:00PM.
Yes, its the first game of a dangerous three-game road stretch. But today, tonight, they got one game. Nothing beyond that matters until beyond that.
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