Thanksgiving Day Tilt Pits SFA Against Western Michigan
11/25/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
GAME THREE: SFA (1-2) vs. WESTERN MICHIGAN (2-2)
Date/Time: Thursday, Nov. 26 • 4:35 p.m.
Site: Nashville Municipal Auditorium (9,654) • Nashville, Tenn.
Live Stats
In-Game Twitter Updates: @SFA_MBB
TV Broadcast: American Sports Network - DirecTV (665-1 or 696) • Dish Network (419)
Talent: PxP - Brett Dolan • Analysis - Mark Adams
SFA Game Notes
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Last summer, the Stephen F. Austin men's basketball team got the call to serve as one of six teams in the second-annual American Sports Network Challenge in Music City and on Thanksgiving Day the 'Jacks will tackle their first course in the three-game Nashville feast by engaging in a bout with Western Michigan. The Lumberjack/Bronco showdown will be broadcast nationally on ASN.
PREPPING FOR THE BRONCOS
• Before the ‘Jacks dig in to their Thanksgiving Day dinner, they will tangle with a Western Michigan squad that was picked to finish third in the race for the 2015-16 Mid-American Conference (MAC) title belt. The 12-member conference splits its basketball conferences into an east and west division with the Broncos steeped in a West Division the features the likes of Central Michigan, Toledo, Eastern Michigan, Northern Illinois and Ball State.
• The Broncos’ hopes for a successful 2015-16 campaign were dealt a blow before the team’s season even commenced when senior Connor Tava suffered a broken foot which will leaved him shelved indefinitely. A Preseason All-MAC Second Team choice, Tava averaged 12.3 points per game a season ago and also served as WMU’s assists leader (3.3 per game).
• This will be the first of two trips to the Music City for Western Michigan this season. Two days before the dawn of 2016, the Broncos are scheduled to take on Vanderbilt in Nashville.
• Now in his 13th season as the Broncos’ head man, Steve Hawkins has been responsible for seven of WMU’s 10 total postseason appearances which include 2004 and 2014 appearances in the NCAA Tournament. Hawkins has guided his squad to 11 consecutive top-three MAC West finishes as well. He’s also the longest-tenured coach in the MAC.
• Picking up the slack for WMU with the absence of Tava is the tandem of Tucker Haymond and Thomas Wilder. Both are converting on their field goal attempts at a clip north of 40-percent and Haymond is the team’s leading scorer (18.3 ppg). Wilder isn’t far behind as he ranks second on the squad with a point per game average of 16.
• Just one man in the MAC has surpassed Kellen McCormick’s three-point field goal total of 12 so far this season. The junior’s per-game triple rate of 3.0 is tops in the 12-team league.
• WMU ranks third in the MAC in three-point field goal percentage defense (.301) and fourth in team field goal percentage (.457).
WALKUP WATCH
• Two games into his final collegiate campaign, senior Thomas Walkup is on the brink of shaking up the ‘Jacks record books substantially. Below is where the Pasadena, Texas, product ranks on the all-time charts in various statistical categories:
• Points - 1,193 - 18th all-time (8th all-time Division I only)
• Rebounds - 538 - 6th all-time Division I only
• Assists - 251 - 8th all-time Division I only
• Free throws made - 281 - 7th all-time Division I only
• Minutes - 3,032 - 9th all-time Division I only
• Field goals made - 431 - 7th all-time Division I only
PINKNEY CLIMBS THE CHARTS
• So far in his career, senior Trey Pinkney has passed out 303 assists. Last Sunday, the Katy, Texas, product became just the seventh player in program history to notch 300 career helpers. His 303 assists rank seventh-all time on SFA’s career charts and sixth in the Division I era of basketball at the institution.
REVIEWING SFA vs. LSU-SHREVEPORT
• By way of their highest single-game field goal percentage of the season (50-percent), the ‘Jacks improved to 3-0 in home openers in the Brad Underwood era as they turned a close game at half into a runaway and defeated LSU-Shreveport 88-64.
• Sunday’s final point tally marked the first scoring output of 80 or more points by the ‘Jacks since an 83-70 triumph over Sam Houston State in the Southland Conference Tournament championship game last season (3/14/15).
• Leading the charge in SFA’s 56-point second half was senior Demetroius Floyd who pumped in 19 of his career-high 21 points in
the final 20-minute stanza. Floyd, who hails from St. Louis, Mo., tied a career high by drilling five three-pointers.
• In the second half, SFA connected on 63.3-percent (19-for-30) of its field goals and outscored the Pilots 56-36.
• When the final horn sounded, SFA had four players who scored 10 or more points. In addition to Floyd’s 21, Thomas Walkup sprung for a game-best 22 while Clide Geffrard and Jared Johnson added 11 and 10 markers respectively. The last time SFA boasted four players in double-digits was in last season’s SLC Tournament title bout with Sam Houston State (3/14/15).
WALKUP NAMED SLC POW
• Monday afternoon saw the Southland Conference pencil in SFA senior Thomas Walkup as its Player of the Week. It signaled the first such honor for the Pasadena, Texas, product in the young season and his third selection since the beginning of the 2014-15 campaign. In the ‘Jacks 1-1 week, Walkup averaged 26 points per tilt on the strength of 58.8-percent field goal shooting. The SLC statistics charts list Walkup as the owner of the league’s second-best scoring average (21.3 ppg) as well as the second-highest field goal percentage (57.1).
BACK TO #MACTION
• SFA has squared off against MAC opposition seven times in program history. Below are the all-time matchups between the ‘Jacks and MAC institutions:
• Akron (0-1) - L, 102-77 - Akron, Ohio - 12/3/88
• Central Michigan (1-0) - W, 82-74 - St. Cloud, Minn. - 12/30/71
• Eastern Michigan (0-1) - L, 82-80 - Kansas City, Mo. - 3/12/68
• Northern Illinois (2-0) - W, 86-78 - Nacogdoches, Texas - 12/22/06
W, 74-50 - DeKalb, Ill. - 11/24/07
ASSOCIATED WITH THE BEST
• In the inaugural 2015-16 version of the AP Poll, the Stephen F. Austin men’s basketball team secured a pair of votes, tying them with Ohio State and Belmont for 43rd in the nation according to the prognosticators. The two votes double the number SFA received at that same point a season ago.
‘JACKED UP FOR THE FUTURE
• The early signing period saw head coach Brad Underwood begin his build for the 2016-17 season by adding a trio of recruits. Point guard Brandon Averette (5-10, Richardson, Texas, Richardson HS), shooting guard Ivan Canete (6-4, Lake Worth, Fla., Palm Beach State College) and forward Samuli Nieminen (6-7, Helsinki, Finland, HBA Marsky) each signed National Letters of Intent to join the SFA ranks next season.
MID-MAJOR MARVEL
• At no point through the relatively short course of the 2015-16 campaign has SFA been absent from the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 poll. In the preseason list, the ‘Jacks were ranked fourth and as of this writing SFA is the 17th-best mid-major squad in the land. Various mid-major coaches around the United States vote on the poll which is released each week through 2015-16.
SKIP TO MY LOU (HENSON)
• Coming off a campaign that saw him collect AP Honorable Mention All-America accolades and Lou Henson All-American honors, senior Thomas Walkup has been selected as a preseason All-American by the Lou Henson Award committee. The Pasadena, Texas, product enters his final collegiate campaign after a breakout junior year in which he led SFA in scoring (15.6 ppg), rebounding (6.5/game) and field goal percentage (.567).
CHARLES IN CHARGE
• Sophomore Ty Charles is one of 24 NCAA Division I men’s basketball players who has not yet missed a free throw in the 2015-16 campaign. Charles has gone 11-for-11 at the charity stripe and is the only player from a school in Texas to have not missed from that distance. New Orleans’ Christavious Gill is the only other Southland Conference player who hasn’t misfired from the foul line so far.
‘JACKS IN THE NATIONAL STAT RANKINGS
• Below are how individual members of SFA rank in the latest NCAA statistical rankings:
• Thomas Walkup: points per game - 31st (21.3); field goal percentage - 103rd (57.1); field goals made - 24 (151st); minutes per game - 109th (34.5); total points - 64 (220th); free throw attempts - 21 (242nd); defensive rebounds per game - 5.33 (219th)
• Demetrious Floyd: 3-pt. FG’s per game - 3.0 (63rd); 3-pt. FG % - 45.0 (108th); total 3-pt. FG made - 9 (189th).
• TJ Holyfield: blocks per game - 1.33 (187th); total blocks - 4.0 (248th).
• Ty Charles: steals per game - 1.67 (219th); off. rebounds per game - 3.0 (117th).
WAVE HELLO
• Upon the conclusion of their tussle with the Broncos, the ‘Jacks will have around 24 hours before they tip off for a second time in Nashville. At 7:30 p.m. on Friday night, SFA will match basketball wits with Tulane for the first time. The American Athletic Conference representatives in the Challenge in Music City, the Green Wave is off to a 2-2 start in 2015-16 and have two common opponents with SFA this season (Appalachain State, New Orleans).
-SFA-
