Just to double check because I don't want to miss the game, is it at 6:00 or 10:00? SFA site still has it at 10.
Photo by The Spokesman-Review
Stephen F. Austin Basketball
Meet Stephen F. Austin's first CIT opponent: the Idaho Vandals
THE GAME: Stephen F. Austin at Idaho
THE TIME: 10:00CT
THE LOCATION: Memorial Gym (Moscow, ID)
THE BROADCAST: Stream on Facebook Live (click here)
It isn't how fans of Stephen F. Austin anticipated the season ending. Even after difficult defeats to New Orleans and Northwestern State in the final weeks, the Lumberjacks' nine lives continued to manufacture hope. Unfortunately, a semifinals loss to Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, a team they beat twice in the regular season, terminated the run at a fourth-straigth NCAA Tournament appearance.
And so, to the CollegeInsiders.com Postseason Tournament it is. Stephen F. Austin accepted a bid, their first to the nine-year-old tournament, and will face the Vandals of Idaho on the road in the first round of the CIT.
The Vandals play in the Kibbie Dome, a multi-sport stadium that also hosts football games. The basketball court configuration, known as the Cowan Spectrum, seats roughly 7000. And for some reason, this game will not be played there.
Instead, Idaho will host SFA's first round CIT matchup in Memorial Gym. It is probably the closest thing to SFA's Shelton Gym (home of Ladyjacks Volleyball) that exists north of Nacogdoches:
It will cap attendance at roughly 1500 - but that may not really mean anything, considering Idaho only averaged around 1000 fans per home game all season.
The Vandals and Lumberjacks have some similarities and also some big differences. Both are defensive-oriented teams. The Vandals allowed the fewest points per game in the Big Sky conference, while also leading their league in rebounding. While SFA's defense emphasized denying the ball and preventing a large quantity of shots, Idaho's forced bad shots, where teams averaged 41.5% from the field.
What SFA lacked that the Vandals have is the presence of an elite scorer. Idaho was picked second in the Big Sky coaches preseason poll and many saw them as the favorite, based in large part on a back court that was expected to be the best in the league by a decent margin. Junior Victor Sanders and senior point guard Perrion Callandret were maybe among the best 1-2 non-Power Five punches in the country.
And then Callandret injured his knee just two games into the season. Without him, Sanders has still been a monster, but only able to carry his team so far. Idaho finished 12-6 in the Big Sky, 18-13 overall. The season included an early loss at Sam Houston State and a near upset of Stanford. The conference season was good enough to tie for third place and a trip to the Big Sky tournament (where they lost to league-champion, and eventual NCAA Tournament representative, North Dakota by five-points in the second round).
The 6-foot-5 Sanders from Portland, Oregon, has averaged 21.4 points per game and a ridiculous 44% from behind the arc. That makes him the eighth-best three point shooter in the country based on percentage, exactly one spot behind UCA's Jordan Howard. He's quick, can drive the ball inside, and has a very nifty ability to score through contact. His highlight reel from last season is no joke:
As a team, Idaho can be susceptible to turnovers. They averaged 12.8 per game but seemed to fair a bit poorer against good pressure defenses. Their 11 offensive rebounds per outing can certainly make up for it, though.
Forward Nate Sherwood, with his 6.8 points and 5.5 rebounds per game, leads the Vandals' front court. He's one of just two players (the other being Sanders) to start every game, although forward Brayon Blake averaged double-figures scoring often from the bench. Arkadiy Mkrtychyan, another big body at 6-foot-7, 235 pounds, contributed 8 points and 4.4 rebounds.
For the most part, aside from Sanders, scoring is done by committee. Nobody other than the Vandals' leading scorer average above 30 minutes, with Nate and his brother Chad Sherwood being the only others to average above 25.
Head coach Don Verlin, a long time assistant of Stew Morrill, is in his ninth year leading the Vandals. His first six seasons, competing in the Western Athletic Conference, saw Idaho never finish better than 9-5 in conference play (good enough for third). His last two seasons in the Big Sky, both finishing 12-6, have been his best overall. A year ago, the Vandals went to the CBI tournament where they were defeated at Seattle by a score of 63-68.
For the Lumberjacks, it will be head coach Kyle Keller's debut in the postseason. Although SFA's ambitions are certainly higher than what they achieved this season, a few wins against solid mid-major programs in the CIT would move the needle in the right direction heading into a big offseason.
But first, they'll have to dispatch the Vandals, who have opened as the favorite at home with a Vegas line of -4.5. Idaho was 11-5 against the spread in their last 16 games and SFA struggled on the road for most of the season.
Tomorrow would be a good time to change that trend as the Lumberjacks try to keep the collegiate career of Dallas Cameron alive for another day.
THE TIME: 10:00CT
THE LOCATION: Memorial Gym (Moscow, ID)
THE BROADCAST: Stream on Facebook Live (click here)
It isn't how fans of Stephen F. Austin anticipated the season ending. Even after difficult defeats to New Orleans and Northwestern State in the final weeks, the Lumberjacks' nine lives continued to manufacture hope. Unfortunately, a semifinals loss to Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, a team they beat twice in the regular season, terminated the run at a fourth-straigth NCAA Tournament appearance.
And so, to the CollegeInsiders.com Postseason Tournament it is. Stephen F. Austin accepted a bid, their first to the nine-year-old tournament, and will face the Vandals of Idaho on the road in the first round of the CIT.
The Vandals play in the Kibbie Dome, a multi-sport stadium that also hosts football games. The basketball court configuration, known as the Cowan Spectrum, seats roughly 7000. And for some reason, this game will not be played there.
Instead, Idaho will host SFA's first round CIT matchup in Memorial Gym. It is probably the closest thing to SFA's Shelton Gym (home of Ladyjacks Volleyball) that exists north of Nacogdoches:
It will cap attendance at roughly 1500 - but that may not really mean anything, considering Idaho only averaged around 1000 fans per home game all season.
The Vandals and Lumberjacks have some similarities and also some big differences. Both are defensive-oriented teams. The Vandals allowed the fewest points per game in the Big Sky conference, while also leading their league in rebounding. While SFA's defense emphasized denying the ball and preventing a large quantity of shots, Idaho's forced bad shots, where teams averaged 41.5% from the field.
What SFA lacked that the Vandals have is the presence of an elite scorer. Idaho was picked second in the Big Sky coaches preseason poll and many saw them as the favorite, based in large part on a back court that was expected to be the best in the league by a decent margin. Junior Victor Sanders and senior point guard Perrion Callandret were maybe among the best 1-2 non-Power Five punches in the country.
And then Callandret injured his knee just two games into the season. Without him, Sanders has still been a monster, but only able to carry his team so far. Idaho finished 12-6 in the Big Sky, 18-13 overall. The season included an early loss at Sam Houston State and a near upset of Stanford. The conference season was good enough to tie for third place and a trip to the Big Sky tournament (where they lost to league-champion, and eventual NCAA Tournament representative, North Dakota by five-points in the second round).
The 6-foot-5 Sanders from Portland, Oregon, has averaged 21.4 points per game and a ridiculous 44% from behind the arc. That makes him the eighth-best three point shooter in the country based on percentage, exactly one spot behind UCA's Jordan Howard. He's quick, can drive the ball inside, and has a very nifty ability to score through contact. His highlight reel from last season is no joke:
As a team, Idaho can be susceptible to turnovers. They averaged 12.8 per game but seemed to fair a bit poorer against good pressure defenses. Their 11 offensive rebounds per outing can certainly make up for it, though.
Forward Nate Sherwood, with his 6.8 points and 5.5 rebounds per game, leads the Vandals' front court. He's one of just two players (the other being Sanders) to start every game, although forward Brayon Blake averaged double-figures scoring often from the bench. Arkadiy Mkrtychyan, another big body at 6-foot-7, 235 pounds, contributed 8 points and 4.4 rebounds.
For the most part, aside from Sanders, scoring is done by committee. Nobody other than the Vandals' leading scorer average above 30 minutes, with Nate and his brother Chad Sherwood being the only others to average above 25.
Head coach Don Verlin, a long time assistant of Stew Morrill, is in his ninth year leading the Vandals. His first six seasons, competing in the Western Athletic Conference, saw Idaho never finish better than 9-5 in conference play (good enough for third). His last two seasons in the Big Sky, both finishing 12-6, have been his best overall. A year ago, the Vandals went to the CBI tournament where they were defeated at Seattle by a score of 63-68.
For the Lumberjacks, it will be head coach Kyle Keller's debut in the postseason. Although SFA's ambitions are certainly higher than what they achieved this season, a few wins against solid mid-major programs in the CIT would move the needle in the right direction heading into a big offseason.
But first, they'll have to dispatch the Vandals, who have opened as the favorite at home with a Vegas line of -4.5. Idaho was 11-5 against the spread in their last 16 games and SFA struggled on the road for most of the season.
Tomorrow would be a good time to change that trend as the Lumberjacks try to keep the collegiate career of Dallas Cameron alive for another day.
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