SFA's Keller challenges Sam Houston State fans: 'I hope their arena is full'

Although certainly disappointed by the elusive double-bye in the upcoming Southland Conference Tournament that escaped Stephen F. Austin in the closing days of the 2017-18 regular season, there is still plenty for head coach Kyle Keller's team to play for this weekend.

The bitterest rivalry in the league continues its basketball series on Saturday in a televised regular season finale that pits the Lumberjacks against Sam Houston State in Huntsville. In a meeting between the teams in Nacogdoches on January 27th, SFA rolled to an 82-66 victory in front of a sellout sea of more than seven thousand fans at William R. Johnson Coliseum.

But now the venue shifts to the other Johnson Coliseum—home of the Bearkats—where no crowd has even cracked the 1,500 mark despite a relatively successful 18-12 (12-5) season thus far. An effort to mobilize SFA fans should certainly assist the home team in topping their season averages, but Keller wants to see the Bearkats take it a step further than that with their own people.

"I hope they have as many people there rooting against us as we had in here cheering for us," he told reporters this week. "Our guys thrive on it. They embrace it. I hope their arena is full and they're wearing whatever color they wear in their place because we want it."

SFA played in front of some sizeable hostile crowds during non-conference matchups at Mississippi State, LSU, Missouri and Louisiana Tech — and of course, a few large friendly crowds in Nacogdoches — but it has been hard to find numbers in the seats of the Southland Conference outside the WRJ. 

Sam Houston State, for their part, has not lost a single game in Huntsville since conference play started. Their lone blemish at home, a December loss to Utah Valley, puts them in impressive company for one of the better home-court advantages nationally. That record will certainly be on the line when SFA, still looking to lock up the third seed in Katy next week, takes a floor they have won on many times in the recent years. 

The Bearkats will be trying to bounce back from a second-half mauling by Central Arkansas in Conway. Keller is confident they will.

"They had a tough night [at UCA] and I wouldn't want to be on their bus with their coach," he said. "Because I'm sure he's about like me and I wouldn't be very nice to them. I imagine they'll probably be breathing beef jerky and fire [this week] in practice. They'll be all lathered up by the time we get to Saturday."

And, certainly, so will SFA. Whether or not fans in Huntsville fully appreciate it, Keller's team knows the weight of the Piney Woods rivalry.

Seeds in Katy on the line or not, the pride factor for both teams should offer an entertaining showcase of Southland Conference basketball on the final day of the regular season.