The Game: SFA Men's Basketball at Abilene Christian
The Time: Wednesday, January 17th, 7:00 p.m. (CT)
The Broadcast: ElevenSportsUSA (television), Lumberjacks Sports Network (radio)
There has been something just a little bit off about Stephen F. Austin since conference play started but, save a mess of a game in Hammond to begin the league season, its still finding ways to win. The road is a hard place to grind out victory without playing well, though, and the Wildcats of Abilene Christian will no doubt represent their hardest challenge away from William R. Johnson Coliseum since playing a pair of SEC schools during the non-conference.
Abilene Christian enters the game after sweeping a couple games on the road against winless teams in SLC play. They hardly looked their best, but the friendly confines of Moody Coliseum should get them back on track.
The shooting of Leon Gilmore III, Aaron Augustin, Shannon Bogues. Yes, that's an odd group to lump together - a defensive specialist forward, a point guard who almost never looks to score, and the most explosive athlete on the team. They all have something in common, though: jump shots hadn't been working until Saturday (or still aren't, in Aaron's case).
Leon Gilmore III hadn't made anything more than a layup the entire season until draining a couple triples on Saturday and Shannon Bogues last hit from the outside during an early season non-conference game at Mississippi State before doing the same. Aaron Augustin, although not relied on for his scoring, still hasn't hit a field goal of any kind in conference play.
Shannon will still find ways to score and Leon and Aaron contribute in other areas, but it will be important, if SFA is to emerge from what has been a bit of a funk, to find a bigger variety of points. The pressure needs to be lifted on the bangers inside like TJ Holyfield and Kevon Harris (when he drives). Having other threats on the court who can put up points without taking it to the basket could do wonders for the offense against ACU.
ACU's best player can't stop fouling. ACU's leading scorer (and the SLC's freshman of the year in 2016-17), sophomore center Jalone Friday has fouled out of every single conference game this season. It's becoming a huge problem for the Wildcats, in fact, where he averages 4.6 fouls per game for the entire season. Friday is a really good player, a total mismatch in the Southland Conference, but he's been a step slow on defense at times and it has cost ACU.
It is now a strategy for teams to employ: drive straight at Friday. He barely cracks 20 minutes per game (and sometimes far less) because he can't stay on the court with the frequent foul trouble. The best way to not get beat by a team's best player is to keep them out of the game.
The number of minutes he plays on Wednesday might be a big part of telling the story of the game.
ACU has been one of the worst rebounding teams in the SLC this season. It may have something to do with their best big man riding the bench, but Abilene Christian has struggled to secure rebounds all season - and even more so during conference play. In league action, the Wildcats are averaging -4.8 in rebounding margin while losing the head-to-head against every conference opponent but Sam Houston State.
They are dead last since SLC action started in offensive rebounds, averaging just seven per game. SFA has only been average in that area since conference play started, but this matchup represents a chance to make some moves in that area. Lumberjacks head coach Kyle Keller always focuses on how many more field goal attempts his team gets than the opponent - this will be a deciding factor in how that plays out.
There is a lot of continuity from a season ago but the Wildcats remain moderately young. Here are a few names to remember:
Jalone Friday. We've talked about his foul troubles, but when he's on the court, Friday is an absolute beast. He can bang down low, knock in 40% of his three point attempts, and has blocked 31 shots in 19 games. There is nobody on SFA's team to counter his size - 6-foot-9, 250 pounds - and when he's available, the offense will partly run through him. Look for someone like Gilmore to focus their attention on denying him touches. And, of course, for drivers to go right at him when the Lumberjacks are on offense in an effort to get him off the floor.
Jaylen Franklin. Before Friday was named SLC freshman of the year last season, Franklin owned that title the year before. The junior point guard is the unselfish leader on the court of the Wildcats and, although he doesn't score like he did in seasons past (averaging an even 10 points per game), he's dishing out 4.8 assists per game while turning the ball over just 2.3 times. Franklin is not a three-point threat but he's such a good athlete he will find openings to score inside the key.
Jaren Lewis. Lewis is a combo guard/forward, not totally unlike Kevon Harris, who is a junior in his third season at ACU. His 6-foot-6, 215 pound frame creates frequent mismatches and he's scoring at a rate of 13.4 points per game and actually functioning as ACU's best rebounder, with 6.4 per game. He has only attempted 18 three pointers all year but has nailed eight of them. Lewis is also an excellent defender and will likely see a lot of Kevon duty as the Wildcats try to slow down SFA's leading scorer on Wednesday.
They make some jump shots, can spread out ACU's interior defense. This is not a team you want to get one-dimensional with, because they have some size and will take advantage of a cold shooting night by collapsing on the interior. There cannot be a repeat of SFA's last road game, where they went 0-16 from three-point range, if the Lumberjacks want to escape with victory.
Keller's team has a good chance to matchup well with ACU defensively, but they need to put up points. It would be ideal if they found a way to not play from behind.
They get enough field goal attempts and free throw opportunities to score 75. Notice, I said field goal attempts. Of course they need to make them, but ACU's problem on Wednesday is going to be getting enough shots in the air to even worry about them going in or not. In the small sample size of SLC play, ACU actually leads the league in turnover margin, but the Lumberjacks are among the best in the country at turning teams over and ACU's rebounding defecit could add to that problem. Minimize both issues, get enough attempts, and this is a ball game.
- Keller is investing in March with his lineups, to a certain degree. Ty Charles, for instance, may not be the player he needs to be right now while returning from injury, but his floor time is an investment because they'll need him by Katy. So long as his improvement continues, fans shouldn't be overly worried about the numbers. He owns the locker room because everyone in it knows what he's capable of. He'll be able to show it in due time - but this wouldn't be a bad game for his breakout.
- A big emphasis recently has been "playing fast." SFA seems to have gotten away from some of the great pace they showed in the non-conference and it has hurt them. They're just not quite as good in the half-court when they aren't pushing the ball. This will be another thing to keep an eye on, at least until/unless SFA is able to build a lead.
- During a private conversation at the Southland Conference championship, ACU's Joe Golding told me he thought his roster was capable of contending for a championship. Golding laughed off the preseason pick of 7th. "Disrespectful," he called it. Wednesday's game matches him up with the preseason favorite, in a poll defying effort.
- This might turn out to be one of the better attended road games in the conference season for SFA the rest of the way. Lamar could put together a respectable crowd and Sam Houston, thanks to the traveling SFA fans, usually has a decent showing when SFA is in town. But for the most part, SLC attendance has been absolutely dismal outside of Nacogdoches. This game is big enough for ACU that there might actually be some energy in the building on Wednesday. We'll see.
It's not that ACU isn't capable of winning - they are, especially at home - but as much as SFA has slumped a bit in recent weeks, ACU is hardly looking like themselves either. This would be an opportunity for the Lumberjacks to turn a corner and start clicking once again like they did in the non-conference.
Ultimately, I think defense will get it done for the road team in a game that looks higher scoring than it really was.
Stephen F. Austin: 79
Abilene Christian: 72
