Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks
Southland (28-6, 14-4)
Stephen F. Austin finished third in the Southland Conference with a 14-4 record, but they are getting hot at the right time. The Lumberjacks enter the NCAA Tournament having won ten of their last 11 games, including victories over co-champions Nicholls and Southeastern Louisiana to win the conference tournament.
Big Wins: 12/6 at Louisiana Tech (85-83), 3/3 at Sam Houston State (65-53), 3/9 vs Nicholls (78-66)
Bad Losses: 1/24 at Central Arkansas (92-100), 2/3 at Lamar (54-76), 2/24 Lamar (66-71)
Coach: Kyle Keller
Why They Can Surprise:
No team in the country creates more turnovers than Stephen F. Austin. Everybody on the team is a threat to get a steal and often those lead to easy buckets on the other end. That is one way the Lumberjacks score points. Shannon Bogues is the team’s top scorer at 15.4 points per game. Like all of the guards on the team, he is a shooting threat and can attack the basket. This team does not take a ton of three-pointers, but Bogues, Kevon Harris and Ivan Canete are quite consistent shooting the basketball. With turnovers and three-pointers, the Lumberjacks have the potential to beat good teams.
Why They Can Disappoint:
While Stephen F. Austin will create turnovers, they commit quite a few too. They cannot afford to give up those valuable possessions in the NCAA Tournament. TJ Holyfield and Leon Gilmore III are a very good frontcourt duo who are solid on the glass and can do plenty of scoring as well. However, foul trouble has been an issue at times and there is not much depth behind those two. Samuli Nieminen will have to fill in some minutes here and there and the 6-7 sophomore has played well at times, but the Lumberjacks need Holyfield and Gilmore to stay on the floor as much as possible.
Probable Starters:
Ty Charles, Senior, Guard, 8.0 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 1.6 apg
Ivan Canete, Senior, Guard, 9.4 ppg, 3.0 apg, 1 spg
Kevon Harris, Sophomore, Guard/Forward, 14.6 ppg, 5.4 rpg
TJ Holyfield, Junior, Forward, 13.0 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 6.4 rpg, 2.8 apg, 1.3 bpg
Leon Gilmore III, Senior, Forward, 9.3 ppg, 4.9 rpg
Key Role Players:
Shannon Bogues, Junior, Guard, 15.4 ppg, 1.4 apg
Aaron Augustin, Sophomore, Guard, 4.2 ppg, 3.4 apg, 1.6 spg
John Comeaux, Sophomore, Guard, 4.4 ppg, 1.6 apg
Samuli Nieminen, Sophomore, Forward, 2.7 ppg, 1.5 rpg
By the Numbers:
Scoring Offense: 81.8 (33rd in nation, 3rd in conference)
Scoring Defense: 68.7 (84, 3)
Field-Goal Percentage: 49.2 (21, 1)
Field-Goal Defense: 43.2 (133, 2)
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 7.0 (240, 7)
Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 37.3 (73, 1)
Free-Throw Percentage: 70.3 (224, 7)
Rebound Margin: 3.1 (76, 1)
Assists Per Game: 14.5 (115, 7)
Turnovers Per Game: 15.7 (343, 10)
Recent Postseason Appearances:
2017 CIT First Round loss to Idaho
2016 NCAA Round of 64 win over West Virginia
2016 NCAA Round of 32 loss to Notre Dame
2015 NCAA Round of 64 loss to Utah
2014 NCAA Round of 64 win over VCU
2014 NCAA Round of 32 loss to UCLA
2013 NIT First Round loss to Stanford
2009 NCAA Round of 64 loss to Syracuse
2008 NIT First Round loss to Massachusetts
1987 NIT Second Round loss to Arkansas-Little Rock
1987 NIT First Round win over James Madison
*all team stats through 3/4
