Stephen F. Austin
Missouri
Second-Straight SEC Foe Awaits --/rv 'Jacks' Who Face --/rv Missouri in Columbia
12/18/2017 7:00:00 PM | Men's Basketball
SFA meets Missouri for second time, goes gunning for its 11th win of 2017-18
--/rv Stephen F. Austin (10-1) at --/rv Missouri (9-2)
Tuesday, Dec. 19 | 8:00 p.m. | Columbia, Mo. | Mizzou Arena (15,061)
Live Stats | Watch (ESPNU/ESPN app) | Listen (Q107.7/TuneIn) | SFA Game Notes | Missouri Game Notes
TV | Play-by-Play • Dave Neal | Analysis • Jimmy Dykes
Radio | Play-by-Play/Analysis • Rob Meyers
OPENING TIPS
• A little over 72 hours removed from securing the first victory over an SEC opponent in the history of the program, the --/rv Stephen F. Austin men's basketball team takes aim at a second-straight triumph over a foe from that league when the 'Jacks enter Mizzou Arena (15,061) for an 8:00 p.m. tip-off at --/rv Missouri.
• The second meeting between the 'Jacks and Tigers will be televised nationwide on ESPNU and online via the ESPN app with Dave Neal and Jimmy Dykes handling play-by-play and analysis. Over the radio waves, it'll be Rob Meyers setting up shop to call the action on Q107.7 FM in Nacogdoches and worldwide on the TuneIn app.
• SFA's one-point victory over the Tigers in Baton Rouge, La., Saturday afternoon pushed the team's record to 10-1. Currently, SFA is one of only 18 NCAA Division I men's basketball teams who have totaled double-digits wins throughout the early stages of the 2017-18 campaign.
• One of the most important items the 'Jacks bring with them into the den of the Tigers is one of the best defenses in the nation. SFA leads all of NCAA Division I men's basketball in turnovers forced per game (23) and ranks second in both total steals (142) and steals per game (12.9).
• The 'Jacks are in search of their first victory over an NCAA Division I opponent from the state of Missouri. SFA has faced Missouri one time and Missouri State one, too, and is 0-1 against each of those squads. In the only other meeting between Missouri and SFA, the Tigers Antuane Miller scored a game-high 21 points for the 'Jacks, but Missouri forced 27 turnovers and shot 64.3-percent from the field to claim an 85-56 victory on Nov. 25, 2006.
• After finishing the 2016-17 season as the 'Jacks' second-leading scorer, senior Ivan Canete suffered through a slow start in the early stages of 2017-18 but has turned it on as of late. Through his last three games, the Lake Worth, Fla., product has put in 12.3 points per game while shooting 58.3-percent (14-of-24) from the field and 63.6-percent (7-of-11) from three-point range.
• Three of the top five three-point shooters in the Southland Conference play for SFA. TJ Holyfield (.471) ranks second in the league in three-point field goal percentage while Kevon Harris (.468) and Canete (.455) are third and fourth respectively.
POLL POSITION
• For the second-straight week, the 'Jacks appeared in the receiving votes section of the USA Today Coaches Poll.
• SFA gathered up three votes in the poll to move above other vote-getting teams such as Michigan (2), Oklahoma State (1) and Alabama (1).
THE .800 CLUB
• Since the start of the 2012-13 season, the 'Jacks have put up an impressive record of 144-35. That works out for a winning percentage of .804 during that span.
• Just five other NCAA Division I men's basketball programs - Gonzaga, Wichita State, Arizona, Villanova and Kansas - have posted winning percentages of .800 or better in that same period of time.
SCOUTING MISSOURI (9-2) | ROSTER | SCHEDULE | STATISTICS
• Scoring leaders | Jordan Barnett/Kassius Robertson | 13.7 ppg
• Rebounding leader | Jontay Porter | 7.1/game
• Assists leader | Blake Harris | 3.1/game
• Steals leader | Kassius Robertson | 0.9/game
• Blocks leader | Jontay Porter | 2.5/game
• With five players on its roster listed at 6'10 or taller, Missouri has made it a point to crash the glass as the Tigers are off to a 9-2 start. Missouri ranks third in the SEC and 12th nationally with a rebounding margin of +10.2. Additionally, the Tigers' 450 total rebounds leads the SEC and ranks 56th in the nation while their rebounding average of 40.91 per game is the 29th-highest figure in all of NCAA Division I men's basketball.
• Offensively, it has been an often-used and accurate touch from three-point range which has helped the Tigers overpower their opponents on offense. As a team, Missouri leads the SEC with 107 three-pointers made and an average of 9.7 long-range hits per game. The Tigers are hitting triples at a clip of 38.9-percent which ranks fifth in the SEC and 59th nationally.
• Perhaps the most formidable front court defender the 'Jacks will take on this season, freshman Jontay Porter has turned into a bona fide defensive stopper through his first 11 collegiate games. In addition to his 8.5 points and team-leading 7.1 rebounds per game, Porter has totaled 25 blocked shots - good for an average of 2.27 per game. Nationally, his 25 total blocks are 32nd while his 2.27 rejections per game is the country's 37th-highest average.
• In his first year in charge in Columbia, head coach Cuonzo Martin has constructed one of the nation's most challenging schedules for the Tigers to battle through. Missouri has the 20th-best strength of schedule in the land while its non-conference strength of schedule ranks 19th. Currently, the Tigers' RPI sits at seventh in the nation.
• Opponents of the Tigers haven't fared too well from the field thus far in 2017-18. Missouri boasts the nation's 29th-best field goal defense which limits its foes to a field goal percentage of only 38.5. As a result, five of the Tigers' wins this season have come by 20 or more points.
• Not only is head coach Cuonzo Martin in search of his first victory over a Southland Conference program as the bench boss of the Tigers, Missouri will be eager to pick up its 14th victory over a Southland Conference program. All-time, the Tigers are 13-2 against Southland foes with their only two losses coming to Lamar (71-67 in the opening round of the 1981 NCAA Tournament) and Sam Houston State (80-77, Nov. 14, 2005).
LAST TIME OUT
• Thanks to the heroics of senior Ivan Canete, who put in SFA's last seven points of the game including an eventual game-winning layup with 5.8 seconds to go, the 'Jacks outlasted LSU in Baton Rouge, 83-82, to continue one of the best starts in the history of the program.
• Canete, who finished with a game and season-high 20 points on 8-of-11 shooting, helped SFA secure the program's first-ever win over an SEC institution with his late-game shooting. Prior to Saturday afternoon, the most recent time SFA had defeated a current member of the SEC was on Dec. 1, 1970 when the squad rolled into College Station, Texas, and took down Texas A&M 89-82. At the time - over 47 years ago - the Aggies were members of the Southwest Conference.
• With Canete leading the way from long-range, the 'Jacks splashed a season-high 12 three-pointers in the victory. Canete finshed 4-of-5 from long range while Kevon Harris went 3-of-5. Aaron Augustin drilled two of his three downtown tries, too, and helped the 'Jacks match the record for most three-pointers in a game in the Kyle Keller coaching era.
• The hotly-contested game was up for grabs by either team right from the opening tip. SFA led for only 8:07 - the smallest amount of time SFA led in a win since being on top for just 8:06 in an overtime win at Central Arkansas on Feb. 25, 2017 - and the SEC/Southland battle featured 15 ties and 18 lead changes. Those 15 ties tied a record for most in a game in Kyle Keller's tenure as SFA's head coach while the 18 lead changes were the most in a game in Keller's stint as head coach.
• LSU's Aaron Epps submitted the first double-double by an opposing player this season by going for 16 points and 10 rebounds. He also got a great look at a would-be game-winning layup on the Tigers' final possession, but his try rimmed out as time expired.
• Counting this sesaon, there have been 12 seasons in SFA men's basketball history that the 'Jacks have opened with a record of 10-1 though their first 11 games. Those 11 instances are all tied for the second-best start through 11 games in the history of the program and the only time SFA began a season on an 11-game winning streak came in 1969-70 when it rattled off 29-straight wins before dropping its only game of the season in the NAIA National Tournament semifinals.
• With the victory over LSU, SFA pushed its all-time record against current SEC opponents to 4-26. In the process, Kyle Keller joined Bob Shelton (1925-42) and Marshall Brown (1959-78) as the only SFA head coaches to claim a win over a current SEC foe. Both Shelton and Brown secured victories over Texas A&M at least once throughout their coaching careers.
• Sophomore Aaron Augustin dished out a team and game-high six assists in the victory. It was the sixth time in 2017-18 that the Suwanee, Ga., product passed out six or more helpers in a game.
• All of sophomore Kevon Harris' 11 points occured in the opening half of the SEC/Southland game. Harris, who at the time was the reigning Southland Conference Player of the Week, also grabbed six rebounds in his 13 minutes of first-half action.
• The dominance of the 'Jacks over teams from the state of Louisiana continued with their Saturday victory in Baton Rouge. Since the start of 2012-13, SFA has gone 29-4 (.879) against Louisiana teams.
• The 'Jacks added another road victory to their long ledger since the start of the 2011-12 campaign. Since that season, SFA has accumulated 58 road wins which has been surpassed by only one other NCAA Division I men's basketball team in that same span (Wichita State, 60).
ICY IVAN LOCKS UP NATIONAL AWARD
• Following a Saturday afternoon performance in which he helped the Stephen F. Austin men's basketball team claim its first-ever victory over an SEC opponent, senior guard Ivan Canete earned the title of CollegeInsider.com Lou Henson National Player of the Week Monday morning.
• In Baton Rouge, La., Saturday, Canete and the 'Jacks matched up with LSU for the first time in program history and Canete provided a multitude of winning moves down the stretch to help the 'Jacks walk out of the Maravich Center with an 83-82 triumph over the Tigers.
• As part of his season and game-high 20-point effort, the final year man out of Lake Worth, Fla., scored the last seven points for SFA - including the eventual game-winning layup with 5.9 seconds to go - to help the 'Jacks continue their best start since 2012-13.
• Canete shot 8-of-11 (72.7-percent) from the field and connected on four of his five (80-percent) three-point tries while also dishing out four assists in the victory. The 'Jacks' win over LSU also marked the program's first over a current SEC team since 1970 when they defeated Texas A&M 89-82 in College Station, Texas. At that time, the Aggies competed in the Southwest Conference.
• The Lou Henson Award is presented annually to the top mid-major player in NCAA Division I college basketball. At the conclusion of the 2015-16 season, SFA's Thomas Walkup was named the school's first-ever Lou Henson Award winner after putting the finishing touches on one of the greatest careers in Lumberjack men's basketball history.
• The award is named in honor of Lou Henson who retired after a spectacular coaching career that lasted 41 years. When he left the game in 2005, he was sixth all-time in career NCAA Division I wins with 779. He is the winningest coach at both Illinois and New Mexico State and is one of only 12 coaches in the history of the game to take two schools to the Final Four.
SOUTHLAND STRONG III
• Already the CollegeInsider.com Lou Henson National Player of the Week after his game-changing performance in the Stephen F. Austin men's basketball team's Saturday afternoon triumph at LSU, senior guard Ivan Canete found himself on the receiving end of more individual accolades Monday afternoon when the Lake Worth, Fla., product was named the Southland Conference Player of the Week for the first time in his collegiate career.
• One of the 'Jacks' three seniors, Canete is the second SFA player this season to earn the title of Southland Conference Player of the Week, joining sophomore Kevon Harris who earned the title twice already this season (Nov. 13 and Dec. 11).
COMING UP NEXT
• The final non-conference test for the 'Jacks will take place inside William R. Johnson Coliseum at 6:00 p.m. Thursday evening. At that time, SFA welcomes Arlington Baptist to Nacogdoches before beginning its 18-game Southland Conference slate.
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