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Stephen F. Austin at Sam Houston State, 5:30 PM Eastern, free streaming at gobearkats.com
The Battle of the Piney Woods, basketball style, will be played in Hunstsville, Texas this afternoon as the two top teams in the Southland Conference collide for today’s Under the Radar Game of the Day. Despite our comments earlier this week that this game was not available for viewing, Sam Houston State is offering a free video stream of both the women’s game at 3:00 PM Eastern and the men’s game to follow approximately thirty minutes afterwards.
SFA enters today’s game at 5-0 in SLC play and 15-3 overall. Their RPI is only 101, but they have a decent BPI at 80 and an even better KenPom rating at 50. The Lumberjacks best wins were a road win at Memphis and a home win over Long Beach State. However, all three of their losses were to legitimate NCAA tournament contenders — Northern Iowa, Baylor and Xavier. Further, they have not lost since November 24 and enter today’s rivalry game on a 14 game winning streak. Including conference tournament play, they have won 25 straight Southland Conference games after sweeping the conference last season. Should they continue their domination of the conference, there may still have a shot at an at-large bid, in the event one is necessary.
The Bearkats of Sam Houston State enter today’s game at 6-0 in SLC play and 14-4 overall. Their RPI is 107, BPI is 91, and KenPom is 78. Their only win of note, however, was a home win over Eastern Washington, the top team in the Big Sky. They have suffered losses to Wofford, UNLV, Texas A&M and LSU, none of which is an awful loss. However, the Bearkats’ only shot at an NCAA bid will come in the Southland Conference tournament. They can make a major stride towards the top seed in that tournament with a win over their rivals today.