Game 17 Preview: at Jax State

Game 17 • at Jax State
Jacksonville, Ala. • Pete Matthews Coliseum
Jax State (8-8, 3-2 CUSA) vs Sam Houston (9-7, 1-4 CUSA)
Wednesday, Jan. 14 • 6 PM CST

TV: ESPN+
RADIO: BSN

HOW TO FOLLOW: Live Stats • @Bearkats_MBB
Series vs the Gamecocks: 2-2

JACKSONVILLE, Ala. — Sam Houston is back on the road looking to string together some wins when it takes on Jax State Wednesday evening at Pete Matthews Coliseum.

The matchup will be broadcast on ESPN+ and can also be heard online on the Bearkat Sports Network with Carlos Zimmermann on the call. The Kats are coming off a home split with a win over Delaware on Jan. 8 and a lost to first-place Liberty this past Saturday.

CONTROLLING THE OFFENSIVE GLASS
The Bearkats have been one of the best offensive rebounding teams in the country this season. They are ranked 4th in the nation in offensive rebounds per game at 15.47. Senior Veljko Ilic has been the driving force, he ranks 16th individually in o-boards, averaging 3.73 per game which also leads CUSA.

MAKING IT COUNT FROM LONG RANGE
Sam Houston has made 99 3-pointers in its last 10 games, for an average of 9.9. The Bearkats went 14 for 37 in a loss to Oklahoma State after going 16 for 27 in a win over Idaho to close out the Holiday Hoops Classic in Boise with a perfect 2-0 record. They made 5 more in a 12-point win over Texas Southern on Dec. 6 and drilled 10 in the win over Oregon State. Sam dropped 10 3s in losses at NM Mexico and Western Kentucky around a win over Biblical Studies where Sam closed nonconference with 12 made shots behind the arc. The five 3s the Bearkats made in the 68-67 loss to Middle Tennessee State on Jan. 4 matched a season low, but they bounced back with 8 in the win over Delaware on Jan.8. Sam made nine 3s in the loss to Liberty.

HOW THE KATS STACK UP IN NATIONAL STAT RANKINGS (As of Jan. 13)
Sam Houston likes to run and is ranked 24th in the country and first overall in CUSA in fastbreak points per game at 16.44 and is 49th in the nation in scoring at 85.1 PPG. Aside from being 32nd in the country in bench points (see above information on the bench), the Kats are 63rd overall and first in the league in free throw percentage at 75.7, 4th in the nation in offensive rebounds per game at 15.38, 6th in total rebounds (43.69), 18th in rebound margin (9.4) and 48th in 3-point percentage defense at 30.1.

Game 17 Preview: at Jax State

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Players Mentioned

Veljko Ilic

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