Texas A&M-CC, NW State meet in Southland tourney

No. 8 seed Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (14-17, 10-10) vs. No. 5 seed Northwestern State (14-15, 11-9)

Southland Conference Tourney First Round, Leonard E. Merrell Center, Katy, Texas; Wednesday, 5 p.m. EDT

BOTTOM LINE: Texas A&M-Corpus Christi is set to square off against Northwestern State in the first round of the Southland tourney. The only regular season meeting came on Jan. 2, when the Islanders forced 18 Northwestern State turnovers and turned the ball over just 11 times en route to a five-point victory.

TEAM LEADERSHIP: Northwestern State’s Chudier Bile has averaged 14.1 points and 7.7 rebounds while Nikos Chougkaz has put up 9.3 points and 7.3 rebounds. For the Islanders, Myles Smith has averaged 13.7 points and 4.5 rebounds while Jordan Hairston has put up 11.7 points.MIGHTY MYLES: Smith has connected on 41.3 percent of the 138 3-pointers he’s attempted and has gone 11 for 20 over the last three games. He’s also converted 86 percent of his foul shots this season.

WINLESS WHEN: Northwestern State is 0-7 this year when it scores 63 points or fewer and 14-8 when it scores at least 64.

UNDEFEATED WHEN: The Demons are 6-0 when they hold opposing teams to 66 points or fewer and 8-15 when opponents exceed 66 points. The Islanders are 5-0 when turning the ball over 12 times or fewer and 9-17 when the team exceeds that total.

DID YOU KNOW: The opportunistic Northwestern State offense has averaged 74.2 possessions per game this season, ranking the Demons 21st nationally. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi has not been as uptempo as the Demons and is averaging only 67.4 possessions per game (ranked 259th).