McNeese St. looks to extend streak vs HBU
Houston Baptist (1-15, 1-6) vs. McNeese State (10-9, 5-3)
H&HP Complex, Lake Charles, Louisiana; Saturday, 4:30 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: McNeese State looks for its sixth straight conference win against Houston Baptist. McNeese State's last Southland loss came against the Central Arkansas Bears 79-69 on Jan. 4. Houston Baptist fell short in a 91-83 game at Nicholls State in its last outing.
LEADING THE CHARGE: McNeese State's Sha'markus Kennedy has averaged 16.9 points, 9.2 rebounds and 3.1 blocks while A.J. Lawson has put up 16.2 points. For the Huskies, Ian DuBose has averaged 20.1 points and 6.9 rebounds while Jalon Gates has put up 15.9 points.
DEFENSIVE IMPROVEMENTS: The Cowboys have allowed only 72.9 points per game to conference opponents so far, an improvement from the 80.9 per game they allowed to non-conference foes.
FUELING THE OFFENSE: DuBose has accounted for 40 percent of all Houston Baptist field goals over the last three games. DuBose has 21 field goals and 13 assists in those games.
PERFECT WHEN: McNeese State is a perfect 6-0 when it turns the ball over 13 times or fewer. The Cowboys are 4-9 when they record more than 13 turnovers. Houston Baptist has forced 13.9 turnovers per game in Southland play and 13.4 per game over its last five.
THREAT FROM DEEP: Houston Baptist's Gates has attempted 136 3-pointers and connected on 39 percent of them, and is 8 of 21 over his last three games.
DID YOU KNOW: The Houston Baptist offense has scored 81.5 points per game this season, ranking the Huskies 11th among Division I teams. The McNeese State defense has allowed 71.6 points per game to opponents (ranked 203rd overall).
