Sam Houston State (11-5, 4-1) vs. Central Arkansas (4-12, 3-2)
Farris Center, Conway, Arkansas; Saturday, 4 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: Sam Houston State pays visit to Central Arkansas in a Southland matchup. Sam Houston State won 67-62 at home against Southeastern Louisiana in its last outing. Central Arkansas lost 86-78 at New Orleans in its most recent game.
SUPER SENIORS: Sam Houston State has relied heavily on its seniors. Kai Mitchell, Zach Nutall, Chad Bowie and RJ Smith have combined to account for 54 percent of the team's scoring this year and 49 percent of all Bearkats points over the team's last five games.
STEPPING IT UP: The Bears have scored 84.6 points per game and allowed 83 points per game in conference play thus far. Those are both significant improvements over the 74.6 points scored and 94.8 points given up per game to non-conference foes.HOT HAYDEN: Hayden Koval has connected on 38.3 percent of the 47 3-pointers he's attempted and has gone 3 for 6 over his last three games. He's also made 71.3 percent of his foul shots this season.
STREAK STATS: Central Arkansas has won its last three home games, scoring an average of 79.3 points while giving up 72.7.
PASSING FOR POINTS: The Bears have recently gotten baskets via assists more often than the Bearkats. Central Arkansas has 61 assists on 85 field goals (71.8 percent) over its past three outings while Sam Houston State has assists on 49 of 84 field goals (58.3 percent) during its past three games.
DID YOU KNOW: The Sam Houston State offense has scored 80 points per game this season, ranking the Bearkats 22nd among Division I teams. The Central Arkansas defense has allowed 88.4 points per game to opponents (ranked 303rd overall).
