Texas State, La.-Lafeyette meet in conference play
Texas State (11-8, 4-4) vs. Louisiana-Lafayette (7-12, 2-6)
Cajun Dome, Lafayette, Louisiana; Saturday, 8 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: Sun Belt foes meet as Texas State takes on Louisiana-Lafayette. Each team last saw action on Thursday. Texas State beat Louisiana-Monroe by one point on the road, while Louisiana-Lafayette is coming off of an 81-65 home loss against Texas-Arlington.
BIG MEN ON CAMPUS: Louisiana-Lafayette's Jalen Johnson has averaged 14.6 points and 6.6 rebounds while Cedric Russell has put up 12.7 points. For the Bobcats, Nijal Pearson has averaged 19.9 points and five rebounds while Mason Harrell has put up 9.8 points.
DEFENSIVE IMPROVEMENTS: The Ragin' Cajuns have allowed just 73.1 points per game across eight conference games, an improvement from the 78.2 per game they allowed in non-conference play.NIJAL IS A FORCE: Pearson has connected on 39.1 percent of the 115 3-pointers he's attempted and has made 10 of 23 over the last three games. He's also made 77.7 percent of his foul shots this season.
SCORING THRESHOLDS: Louisiana-Lafayette is 0-11 when its offense scores 67 points or fewer. Texas State is a perfect 10-0 when it holds opponents to 66 or fewer points. The Bobcats have allowed 64.8 points per game over their last five.
SHARING THE BURDEN: Texas State is a perfect 5-0 when at least four of its players score 10 or more points. The team is 6-8 when fewer than four Bobcats players score in double-figures.
DID YOU KNOW: Texas State has attempted the second-most free throws among all Sun Belt teams. The Bobcats have averaged 22.8 free throws per game, including 25 per game against conference opponents.
