GAMETHREAD: Basketball vs. Stephen F. Austin, 12pm, SEC Network

After a huge win over the Houston Cougars (8-2) Wednesday night, the Tigers will now look to extend their winning streak to four games against the second of a Texas trio in the Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks (9-1). Their record may be a bit intimidating on the surface, but this afternoon should prove to be a relatively relaxing matchup. Relative to that craziness Wednesday, I mean.

Now, I’m by no means “calling an easy win” or anything, but their 9-1 record is a bit deceiving. Three of those wins are against Division II teams, three wins are against teams ranked at or below 300th in the KenPom, and by far their most impressive win is against Louisiana Tech.

The Lumberjacks do pose a unique threat in that they lead the nation in stealing and forcing turnovers, but they tend to get a little too rough for a college referee’s taste. They are the second worst team in defensive FTA/FGA at 56.7%, meaning well over half of shooting attempts for opposing offenses result in a free throw attempt. In simpler terms, they foul and they foul hard, specifically 33 times in their last game against Rice. That’s an insane number of fouls, but they forced 27 turnovers and won 81-62.

Projected Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks Starting 5

#1 F - Kevon Harris: 17.5ppg, 6.1rpg, 27.6 minutes

#11 G - Ivan Canete: 7.6ppg, 2.5apg, 23.4 minutes

#22 F - TJ Holyfield: 16.1ppg, 7.0rpg, 29.2 minutes

#3 F - Leon Gilmore III: 7.7ppg, 4.0rpg, 20.4 minutes

#00 G - Aaron Augustin: 5.8ppg, 4.4apg, 27.9 minutes

The Tigers and Lumberjacks interrupt your regularly scheduled bowl game programming at high noon on the SEC Network. You can also listen to the game on the radio on 98.1 FM, or follow along/join in the comments below or follow my live tweets of the game @marq113.