Stephen F. Austin
Northwestern State
'Jacks Seek Second-Straight Southland Win Saturday at Northwestern State
1/5/2018 2:58:00 PM | Men's Basketball
SFA has won four in a row on Northwestern State's home floor
Stephen F. Austin (12-3, 1-1 Southland) at Northwestern State (3-11, 0-3 Southland)
Saturday, Jan. 6 | 3:30 p.m. | Prather Coliseum (3,600) | Natchitoches, La.
Live Stats | Watch (Eleven Sports/Southland Digital Network) | Listen (Q107.7/TuneIn) | SFA Game Notes | Northwestern State Game Notes
Play-by-Play (Eleven Sports/Q107.7) | Lyn Rollins/Rob Meyers
Analysis (Eleven Sports/Q107.7) | Ronnie Rantz/Rob Meyers
OPENING TIPS
• For the 60th time in program history, the Stephen F. Austin men's basketball team is set to embark on a short journey east to Natchitoches, La., to take on longtime Pelican State rival Northwestern State in a Southland Conference skirmish within hangar-like Prather Coliseum at 3:30 p.m. Saturday afternoon.
• Eleven Sports Network will televise the 128th meeting between the 'Jacks and Demons with Lyn Rollins and Ronnie Rantz providing play-by-play and analysis. Fans unable to make the trip to Natchitoches can take in every second of the action on channel 755 through SuddenLink in Nacogdoches or Natchitoches, channel 623 on DirecTV, channel 1665 on AT&T U-verse and channel 597 on Verizon FiOS.
• For desktop/laptop computer and mobile device users, the Southland Digital Network will also carry the game. Additionally, the Southland Conference app - available on iPhone, Android, Apple TV, Android TV, Amazon Fire TV and Roku - provides another way to catch the action.
• When they hit the court Saturday afternoon, the 'Jacks will set off in search of their fifth-consecutive victory over the Demons inside Prather Coliseum. Northwestern State leads the all-time series 66-61, but as of late it has been dominated by SFA who has won nine of the last 10 and 15 of the previous 20 confrontations.
• Fresh off a double-digit triumph over Nicholls inside William R. Johnson Coliseum Wednesday night which evened their league mark at 1-1, the 'Jacks are also taking aim at their first Southland Conference winning streak of 2017-18 Saturday afternoon. Since the start of the 2012-13 season, no team in America has bettered SFA's run of in-conference dominance as the 'Jacks are 82-10 (.891) in league games throughout that span. Only Wichita State - formerly of the Missouri Valley Conference and now a member of the American Athletic Conference - has matched SFA's sterling in-league mark during that same time period by posting an identical 82-10 mark.
• Although the sample size is just two games, junior TJ Holyfield has stepped up as SFA's top performer in Southland Conference action this season. Holyfield is averaging 16 points and 8.5 rebounds per game in league tilts and has been responsible for 22.3-percent of SFA's point total through its first pair of Southland games.
SCOUTING NORTHWESTERN STATE | ROSTER | SCHEDULE | STATISTICS
• Traditionally thought of as the unluckiest of numbers, 13 is where Northwestern State finds itself residing in seven of the 21 - or one-third - of the Southland Conference's major statistical categories. The Demons rank 13th out of 13 teams in the league in scoring offense (65.9 ppg), scoring margin (-14.1), field goal percentage (39.3), three-point field goal percentage (29.1), assists (10.2/game), turnover margin (-2.57) and assist-to-turnover ratio (0.6).
• A large part of the Demons' offense - 37.2-percent, to be precise - has come from the duo of Iziahiah Sweeney and Ishmael Lane who lead the team in scoring at 12.3 and 12.2 points per game respectively. Lane's prowess has not been limited to the offensive end either as he leads the team in both rebounding (6.6/game) and blocked shots (1.6/game) - areas where he ranks sixth and fifth respectively in the Southland.
• In all, the Northwestern State trio of Czar Perry, Jalan West and Devonte Hall have missed a total of 19 games. Perry has missed the last 10 contests while Hall and West have sat out the last six and three games respectively for personal reasons.
• Two of the Demons' league-high 11 losses in 2017-18 have come at the hands of non-NCAA Division I competition. The Demons dropped a 99-84 decision to NCAA Division III LeTourneau and an 85-84 tilt to NAIA LSU-Shreveport which is truly, as CBS Sports college basketball analyst Jon Rothstein likes to say, the epitome of brutality.
• Just three NCAA Division I men's basketball teams have racked up fewer assists than the 143 Northwestern State has this season. Before sitting out due to personal reasons, Jalan West was the team's assist leader (4.8/game) and currently Izahiah Sweeney leads the team in that department (1.4/game).
• Despite all of their recent struggles against SFA, the Demons can still claim to have an all-time advantage over the 'Jacks - something no other Southland Conference team can boast about. Northwestern State is the only team in the 13-team league which possesses a winning record (66-61, .520) over the 'Jacks.
LAST TIME OUT
• Powered by double-digit scoring outings from five different players, the 'Jacks secured their first Southland Conference triumph of the 2017-18 season Wednesday night by hammering visiting Nicholls 81-64.
• It wasn't just SFA's multi-pronged offensive attack which got the job done either, as the 'Jacks forced 22 turnovers and held the Colonels to a 38.2-percent (21-of-55) performance from the field. As a result, Nicholls wound up with a season-low 64 points - 24.5 fewer than its average of 88.5 headed into Wednesday night's game.
• At no point throughout the lopsided affair did SFA fall behind and the 'Jacks held Nicholls without a field goal through the first 5:37. In that span, the hosts were able to build up an 11-4 lead.
• Three of the four three-pointers SFA finished with during the game came off the hands of senior Ivan Canete who finished with a team-high 17 points. That performance snapped a streak of three games in which the Lake Worth, Fla., product failed to reach at least 10 points.
• Junior TJ Holyfield submitted his first double-double of the season during the 'Jacks' 10th-straight triumph over the Colonels, too. Holyfield netted 15 points and finished with a game and season-high 11 rebounds to go along with both of SFA's blocked shots.
• It took all of 14 seconds of game time for sophomore John Comeaux to enter the game off of the bench and the Beaumont, Texas, product put forth one his finest outings in an SFA uniform once on the floor. Comeaux tied a career-high with 13 points and established a new career-best by hauling down five rebounds. Currently, Comeaux is averaging 9.5 points and 3.5 rebounds while shooting 53.8-percent from the field in Southland Conference action.
• For only the second time this season, the 'Jacks did not hold an advantage in bench scoring. Nicholls, who received a game-high 25 points from reserve Roddy Peters, edged out SFA in bench scoring 32-30 and became the second-straight SFA foe to secure more rebounds than the 'Jacks, too.
• SFA was able to get the upper hand on the Colonels early as the 'Jacks started the game on a 3-0 run. All three of those early points came from the free throw line as SFA didn't connect on a field goal until 3:39 had elapsed. That was the 'Jacks' second-longest field goal drought to begin a game in 2017-18 after a 4:03 stretch without a made shot at the beginning of the team's Southland Conference opener at Southeastern Louisiana.
• By making a renewed effort to get to the free throw line, the 'Jacks were able to return to their winning ways. For the game, SFA put in 19 of its 27 tries from the charity stripe for a 70.4-percent accuracy rate. Those 19 free throw makes represent the second-highest total in a game by SFA this season while the team's 27 tries are the most since attempting the same amount in a home win over Louisiana-Monroe on Saturday, Dec. 2.
• Each of the previous 10 times the 'Jacks and Colonels have crossed paths, the result has been an SFA win. That makes Nicholls one of three Southland Conference opponents (Central Arkansas and Lamar are the other two) that SFA holds current winning streaks of 10 or more games against. All but three of the last 10 meetings between SFA and Nicholls have been decided by 12 or more points, too.• With Wednesday night's win, SFA continued its run of recent dominance against foes from the state of Louisiana. Since the start of the 2012-13 campaign, the 'Jacks have posted a 31-5 (.861) record against foes from that state and six of those triumphs have come over Nicholls.
• Wednesday night's win was a milestone victory for the 'Jacks' home facility of William R. Johnson Coliseum. It marked the 450th triumph for SFA inside the building since it opened just prior to the start of the 1974-75 season.
• Below is a full breakdown of where Stephen F. Austin's points came from in its home win over Nicholls:
Two-pointers | 61.7% (50-81)
Three-pointers | 14.8% (12-81)
Free throws | 23.5% (19-81)
Points in the paint | 56.8% (46-81)
Points off turnovers | 34.6% (28-81)
Second chance points | 9.9% (8-81)
Fast break points | 17.3% (14-81)
Starters points | 62.9% (51-81)
Bench Points | 37.1% (30-81)
THE LINE STARTS HERE
• Through 15 of their 30 regular season games, the 'Jacks are leading the 13-team Southland Conference in seven statistical categories.
• SFA is tops in the league in field goal percentage (.492, 27th nationally), scoring margin (+13.9, 35th nationally), steals per game (12.2, second nationally), total steals (183, second nationally), turnover margin (+6.9, third nationally), turnovers forced per game (22.80, first nationally) and winning percentage (.800, 31st nationally).
• Another area where SFA is the best in the Southland is in terms of total wins. The 'Jacks' 12 wins are at least two more than any other team in the league and makes SFA one of 23 games with exactly 12 triumphs this season. Just 26 other NCAA Division I men's basketball teams have posted more wins than the 'Jacks thus far in 2017-18.
TOP TEN TJ
• Halfway into his third regular season of college basketball, junior TJ Holyfield has cemented himself as not only one of the best SFA has to offer but one of the finest players in the Southland, too.
• The Albuquerque, N.M., product is the only player in the Southland to rank among the top ten in field goal percentage (third, .568), three-point field goal percentage (third, .462) and free throw percentage (eighth, .813).
• In all, Holyfield ranks among the top 10 players in the 13-team league in seven statistical categories. Aside from his trio of top-ten shooting percentages, Holyfield ranks seventh in the Southland in scoring (15.5 ppg), fifth in rebounding (7.0/game), 10th in steals (1.8/game) and fourth in offensive rebounding (2.8/game).
• After snaring 11 rebounds in the 'Jacks' Southland Conference win over Nicholls Wednesday night, Holyfield also moved up to 10th place on SFA's career rebounding charts. For his career, Holyfield has grabbed 478 rebounds and with 22 more he would become only the ninth player in SFA's NCAA Division I history to reach at least 500.
THREE OF A KIND
• No NCAA Division I college basketball team in America possesses an advantage quite as unique as the one SFA does. Three 'Jacks rank among the top five in the Southland Conference in terms of three-point field goal percentage.
• Sophomore Kevon Harris ranks second in the league, having connected on 47-percent (31-of-66) of his long range tries to up his scoring average to a team-leading figure of 16.7 which is the fourth-highest in the 13-team conference.
• Aside from Harris, TJ Holyfield (46.2-percent, 15-of-18) and Ivan Canete (44-percent, 22-of-50) are also in the league's top-five in terms of three-point field goal shooting. Those two individuals rank third and fourth in the Southland respectively, making SFA the only team in the nation to boast three of the top three-point field goal shooters by percentage in their league.
THREE OF A KIND II
• SFA holds the distinction of being the only team in the Southland Conference to boast three of the league's top ten scorers.
• Kevon Harris leads the team and ranks fourth in the league in scoring with 16.7 points per game while TJ Holyfield (15.5 ppg) and Shannon Bogues (14.0 ppg) sit seventh and 10th respectively on the league's list of top scorers.
A DECEMBER TO REMEMBER
• Sophomore Kevon Harris put up some video game-esque numbers throughout the 'Jacks' seven games in the month of December. During those tilts, SFA posted a 5-2 record thanks largely to the offensive abilities of the Ellenwood, Ga., product
• In the month, Harris averaged 19.3 points and 4.6 rebounds per game. From the field, he shot 61.7-percent (50-of-81) which included an incredible 65.7-percent (23-of-35) clip from three-point land. His lowest shooting percentage of the month came from the free throw line where he drilled only 57.1-percent (12-of-21) of his tries.
POMEROY'S POINTS
• Noted basketball analytics guru Ken Pomeroy is known far and wide as one of the foremost authorities of NCAA Division I men's basketball and when taking a look at his numbers it's abundantly clear that the 'Jacks possess one of the finest defenses in the nation.
• The 'Jacks' turnover percentage - or the percentage of opponent possessions which result in a turnover - sits at a nation-leading mark of 29.4. The team's steal percentage - or the percentage of opponent possessions which end with a steal by SFA - stands at 14.8. That's second only to Fordham in all of NCAA Division I men's basketball.
TRENDING UP
• Late Friday morning, the 'Jacks saw their 2017-18 RPI rise back into the top 100. Following a stunning setback at Southeastern Louisiana in the team's Southland Conference opener on Dec. 28, 2017, the 'Jacks' RPI slipped below 100 after moving as high as 61 earlier in the year.
• Currently, SFA's RPI sits at 99 - the highest of the 13 Southland Conference teams. The Southland team with the next-highest RPI is New Orleans at 179 - 80 spots below SFA.
IF SFA WINS
• The 'Jacks' record would improve to 14-3 and 2-1 in Southland Conference play
• The 'Jacks' would secure its sixth-straight victory over Northwestern State in Natchitoches, La.
• The 'Jacks would improve to 62-66 all-time against Northwestern State
• It would give the 'Jacks as many wins inside Prather Coliseum as Northwestern State has in 2017-18 (one)
IF SFA LOSES
• It would drop the 'Jacks' record to 13-4 and 2-2 in Southland Conference play
• It would be the team's second-straight loss to Northwestern State and the first in Natchitoches, La., since Jan. 26, 2013
• It would push Northwestern State's all-time record over SFA to 67-61
COMING UP NEXT
• Currently there are only two Southland Conference teams who have not suffered a defeat in league play thus far. One of those squads - defending league champion New Orleans - will pay a visit to William R. Johnson Coliseum at 7:00 p.m. next Wednesday night to tangle with SFA. Over the last five seasons, those two teams have been responsible for winning all of the league's regular season titles.
-SFA-
