No. 8 seed Houston Baptist (12-17, 8-10) vs. No. 5 seed Lamar (19-12, 12-6)
Southland Conference Tourney First Round, Leonard E. Merrell Center, Katy, Texas; Wednesday, 5 p.m. EDT
BOTTOM LINE: Houston Baptist and Lamar are prepared to face off in the first round of the Southland tournament. The teams split the regular season series at one win apiece. The teams last played on Feb. 27, when the Cardinals outshot Houston Baptist 57.7 percent to 38.7 percent and made eight more 3-pointers on the way to a 35-point victory.
STELLAR SENIORS: Lamar has relied heavily on its seniors this year. Josh Nzeakor, Nick Garth, Jordan Hunter, Christian Barrett and V.J. Holmes have collectively accounted for 66 percent of the team's scoring this year and 66 percent of all Cardinals points over the last five games.
DOMINANT DUBOSE: Ian DuBose has connected on 44.9 percent of the 118 3-pointers he's attempted and has gone 8 for 17 over the last three games. He's also made 71.1 percent of his foul shots this season.
SCORING THRESHOLDS: Houston Baptist is 0-7 when its offense scores 69 points or fewer. Lamar is a perfect 11-0 when it holds opponents to 68 or fewer points and has allowed 65.6 points per game over its last five.
UNDEFEATED WHEN: Lamar is a perfect 9-0 when the team makes nine or more 3-pointers. The Cardinals are 10-12 when the team hits fewer than nine threes.
DID YOU KNOW: The Lamar defense has forced opponents into turnovers on an impressive 22.8 percent of all possessions, which is the 21st-highest rate in the country. Houston Baptist has turned the ball over on 19.8 percent of its possessions (ranked 255th among Division I teams).
