McNeese St. looks to extend streak vs Lamar

Lamar (10-11, 4-6) vs. McNeese State (12-9, 7-3)

H&HP Complex, Lake Charles, Louisiana; Saturday, 4:30 p.m. EST

BOTTOM LINE: McNeese State looks for its eighth straight conference win against Lamar. McNeese State’s last Southland loss came against the Central Arkansas Bears 79-69 on Jan. 4. Lamar fell 70-62 to Stephen F. Austin on Saturday.

TEAM LEADERS: McNeese State’s Sha’markus Kennedy has averaged 17.9 points, 10 rebounds and 3.1 blocks while A.J. Lawson has put up 16.3 points. For the Cardinals, T.J. Atwood has averaged 15.8 points and 6.7 rebounds while Avery Sullivan has put up 11.4 points and 8.8 rebounds.

SOUTHLAND IMPROVEMENT: The Cowboys have scored 78.6 points per game and allowed 74.6 points per game across 10 conference games. Those are both noticeable improvements over the 63.3 points scored and 80.9 points allowed per game to non-conference opponents.ACCURATE ATWOOD: Atwood has connected on 38.9 percent of the 36 3-pointers he’s attempted and has made 2 of 3 over his last three games. He’s also made 71 percent of his free throws this season.

WINLESS WHEN: Lamar is 0-9 when scoring fewer than 62 points and 10-2 when scoring at least 62.

WINNING WHEN: McNeese State is a perfect 7-0 when it turns the ball over 13 times or fewer. The Cowboys are 5-9 when they record more than 13 turnovers. The Lamar defense has forced 17.8 turnovers per game in conference play and 19.8 per game over its last five.

DID YOU KNOW: The Lamar defense has forced opponents into turnovers on an impressive 25.2 percent of all possessions, which ranks the Cardinals 12th among Division I teams. McNeese State has turned the ball over on 23 percent of its possessions (ranking the Cowboys 337th, nationally).