Lamar (9-17, 8-10) vs. No. 3 seed Sam Houston (19-8, 13-3)
Southland Conference Tourney Quarterfinals, Leonard E. Merrell Center, Katy, Texas; Thursday, 9 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: Lamar is set to meet Sam Houston in the quarterfinals of the Southland tournament. In the regular season, Sam Houston won both of the head-to-head matchups. The teams last met on Feb. 22, when the Bearkats shot 42.6 percent from the field while holding Lamar to just 35.3 percent en route to the six-point victory.
BIG MEN ON CAMPUS: Zach Nutall has put up 18.9 points and 5.6 rebounds to lead the charge for the Bearkats. Complementing Nutall is Demarkus Lampley, who is putting up 14.9 points per game. The Cardinals are led by Davion Buster, who is averaging 13.9 points.DOMINANT DAVION: Buster has connected on 37.9 percent of the 174 3-pointers he’s attempted and has made 11 of 23 over his last three games. He’s also converted 95 percent of his free throws this season.
UNBEATEN WHEN: Sam Houston is a perfect 16-0 when it scores at least 75 points. The Bearkats are 3-8 when scoring any fewer than that.
ASSIST RATIOS: The Cardinals have recently created baskets via assists more often than the Bearkats. Sam Houston has an assist on 38 of 85 field goals (44.7 percent) over its past three outings while Lamar has assists on 35 of 75 field goals (46.7 percent) during its past three games.
DID YOU KNOW: The Sam Houston offense is ranked 25th in the country by scoring 80 points per game this season. Lamar has only averaged 65.5 points per game, which ranks 282nd.
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