Nicholls State (11-13, 4-7) vs. Houston Baptist (8-14, 4-7)
Sharp Gymnasium, Houston; Saturday, 6:30 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: Houston Baptist seeks revenge on Nicholls State after dropping the first matchup in Thibodaux. The teams last played on Jan. 12, when the Colonels outshot Houston Baptist from the field 50 percent to 47.5 percent and hit seven more 3-pointers on the way to a one-point victory.
LEADING THE WAY: Houston Baptist's Ian DuBose has averaged 18 points and 6.1 rebounds while Braxton Bonds has put up 7.8 points, 4.6 rebounds and 2.2 steals. For the Colonels, Jeremiah Jefferson has averaged 15.7 points while Kevin Johnson has put up 9.8 points and 4.8 assists.
CLAMPING DOWN: The Huskies have allowed only 77.2 points per game to Southland opponents so far, an improvement from the 86.1 per game they gave up in non-conference play.
JUMPING FOR JEREMIAH: Jefferson has connected on 36.5 percent of the 192 3-pointers he's attempted and has made 11 of 38 over his last five games. He's also converted 67.6 percent of his foul shots this season.
WINLESS WHEN: Houston Baptist is 0-6 this year when it scores 68 points or fewer and 8-8 when it scores at least 69.
PASSING FOR POINTS: The Huskies have recently created buckets via assists more often than the Colonels. Houston Baptist has 47 assists on 77 field goals (61 percent) over its previous three outings while Nicholls State has assists on 38 of 65 field goals (58.5 percent) during its past three games.
DID YOU KNOW: Houston Baptist has attempted the seventh-most free throws in the nation at 25.4 per game. Nicholls State has gotten to the line far less frequently and is averaging only 12.9 foul shots per game (ranked 286th).
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This was generated by Automated Insights, http://www.automatedinsights.com/ap, using data from STATS LLC, https://www.stats.com
