Stephen F Austin at Abilene Christian, 9:00 PM Eastern, espn+
After taking yesterday off because David Griggs forgot to remind me not to forget to remember to post an Under the Radar Game of the Day, we are back in action tonight with a huge battle near the top of the Southland standings between the Stephen F Austin Lumberjacks and the Abilene Christian Wildcats. These two teams, along with Sam Houston State and Nicholls State, appear ready to pull away form the rest of the conference and make this league a four-horse race the rest of the way this season.
SFA enters tonight’s game at 9-2 overall and 6-0 in Southland play. One of the Lumberjacks; two losses was at Baylor, so other than a road slip-up in mid-December at UL-Monroe, SFA has taken care of business against everyone that they should have so far this year. Cameron Johnson (18.5 points per game) and Gavin Kensmil (14.4 points and 6.2 rebounds per game) lead the way for this team, which will be looking to once again prove that they the top team in this conference. Of course, that may not matter for postseason purposes, as the Lumberjacks are waiting for an NCAA decision on whether a one-ear APR postseason ban will apply this year or next.
Abilene Christian is currently 12-3 overall and 4-1 in conference play, having lost last week in a tough game at Sam Houston State. The Wildcats had the distinction of being the best team in the entire nation for a very short time period this year — as they were the first team to win a game when they defeated East Tennessee State back on November 25! Kolton Kohl (10.8) and Coryon Mason (10.7) are the top two scorers for a team that is ranked 32nd in the nation in defense, over 100 spots better than anyone else in the entire Southland. Mason has missed the last two games (including the Sam Houston loss), and the Wildcats could really use him back on the court tonight if he is healthy again. If the Wildcats can get that kind of defensive effort again tonight, they will set themselves in a strong position to make a run at the league crown this year.