No. 9 seed Saint Bonaventure (16-4) vs. No. 8 seed LSU (18-9)
NCAA Tournament First Round, Assembly Hall, Bloomington, Indiana; Saturday, 12:45 p.m. EDT
BOTTOM LINE: Saint Bonaventure is set to face LSU in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Saint Bonaventure took care of VCU by nine in its last outing, while LSU fell to Alabama in its most recent game, 80-79.
STEPPING UP: The explosive Cameron Thomas has averaged 22.6 points to lead the way for the Tigers. Trendon Watford is also a big contributor, producing 16.1 points and 7.1 rebounds per game. The Bonnies have been led by Kyle Lofton, who is averaging 14.6 points and 5.5 assists.
FUELING THE OFFENSE: Lofton has made or assisted on 41 percent of all Saint Bonaventure field goals over the last five games. The junior guard has accounted for 23 field goals and 33 assists in those games.
PERFECT WHEN: The Tigers are 13-0 when holding opponents to 41.5 percent or worse from the field, and 5-9 when opponents shoot better than that. The Bonnies are 14-0 when they score at least 65 points and 2-4 on the year when falling short of 65.
PASSING FOR POINTS: The Bonnies have recently used assists to create baskets more often than the Tigers. LSU has an assist on 32 of 87 field goals (36.8 percent) across its past three outings while Saint Bonaventure has assists on 46 of 84 field goals (54.8 percent) during its past three games.
DID YOU KNOW: The sturdy Saint Bonaventure defense has held opponents to just 60.4 points per game, the fifth-lowest in Division I. LSU has allowed an average of 75.3 points through 27 games (ranked 253rd, nationally).
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