Central Ark. looks to sweep McNeese St.
Central Arkansas (7-16, 6-6) vs. McNeese State (12-11, 7-5)
H&HP Complex, Lake Charles, Louisiana; Saturday, 4 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: McNeese State seeks revenge on Central Arkansas after dropping the first matchup in Conway. The teams last played on Jan. 4, when the Bears outshot McNeese State from the field 48.1 percent to 41.7 percent and hit five more 3-pointers en route to a 10-point victory.
LEADING THE WAY: The do-everything Sha’markus Kennedy has averaged a double-double (17.8 points, 10.2 rebounds and three blocks) to lead the charge for the Cowboys. A.J. Lawson is also a key facilitator, producing 16.3 points and four assists per game. The Bears are led by Rylan Bergersen, who is averaging 14.8 points and 4.8 rebounds.
DIALING IT UP A NOTCH: The Bears have scored 80.3 points per game and allowed 78 points per game against Southland opponents. Those are both nice improvements over the 68.8 points scored and 94.8 points allowed per game to non-conference opponents.
OFFENSIVE THREAT: Lawson has accounted for 43 percent of all McNeese State field goals over the last three games. The junior guard has 19 field goals and 18 assists in those games.
WINNING WHEN: McNeese State is a perfect 7-0 when it turns the ball over 13 times or fewer. The Cowboys are 5-11 when they record more than 13 turnovers. Central Arkansas has forced 14.3 turnovers per game in conference play and 15 per game over its last three.
THREAT BEHIND THE ARC: McNeese State’s Dru Kuxhausen has attempted 188 3-pointers and connected on 50.5 percent of them, and is 17 for 33 over the last five games.
DID YOU KNOW: The McNeese State offense has scored 80.9 points per game this season, ranking the Cowboys 12th nationally. The Central Arkansas defense has allowed 84.1 points per game to opponents (ranked 321st).
___
For more AP college basketball coverage: and
___
This was generated by Automated Insights, , using data from STATS LLC,