After the exciting win last Saturday night, the Bearkat men’s basketball team is set to endure the toughest part of their SLC schedule. Of the next five games, only one game is in Huntsville.
Tonight, the Bearkats will travel to San Antonio to take on the University of Texas-San Antonio. On Saturday, Sam Houston will go to Southeastern Louisiana to take on the defending SLC tournament champions.
When the Bearkats take on the Roadrunners tonight at Johnson Coliseum, they will have to keep a close eye on Andre Owens, the team’s leading scorer.
He averages 18 points per game, which is good enough to be second in the Southland Conference. The Bearkats do have an advantage though. They are number one in the SLC in scoring defense, averaging 64 points per game. Texas-San Antonio, on the other hand, is ranked near the bottom giving up 74 points per game.
The Bearkats will have a tough test when facing the Roadrunners, who are also number one in the SLC in field goal percentage. If the Bearkats can break the press just like they did against Northwestern State, look for a Sam Houston victory.
On Saturday night, the Bearkats will travel to Hammond, La. to take on the Lions from Southeastern Louisiana. The Lions are no pushover, and many of the players from last year’s tournament team are back. Ricky Woods is one of the returning players and is third in the conference for scoring. He averages 17 points per game.
Defense and rebounding will be the keys to a Bearkat victory. The Lions are ranked near the top in three point percentage. Chris Lee of SLU is ranked number one in the conference percentage, shooting an amazing 61 percent from downtown.
The Bearkats are near the top in the conference when it comes to rebounding. However, Woods is number one in the conference averaging 11 rebounds per game.
If the Bearkats can put the clamps on Woods, they will come back with two huge Southland Conference victories. The Bearkats will return to Johnson Coliseum on Jan. 28 to face the University of Texas-Arlington.