@SidekicksPicks CBB Play of the Day - 2/17

The Abilene Christian Wildcats travel to Huntsville, Texas to take on the Sam Houston Bearkats for a 7:30 pm tip. The Wildcats are having a great season with an overall record of 17-7, 6-4 on the road. ACU is sitting 6th in the Western Athletic conference with an 8-5 record. They are currently on a 6 game winning streak and are 3-2 in their last 5 road games.

The Bearkats are turning it around in the back end of their season with a 15-11 overall record, 9-2 at home. They are currently 3rd in the Western Athletic Conference with a 10-3 record. Sam Houston is on a 1 game winning streak and have won 8 of their last 10 games.

The Wildcats have an explosive offense, ranking 38th in ppg (78). They don’t shoot a high percentage, but win the majority of their games by scoring a large number of points. I chalk some of these numbers up to their weak schedule. They have played 4 non ranked schools and hung 90-112 points against each of them. In games they lose, they struggle to score in the mid 60s.

One of those games was against Sam Houston at home where they lost 65-63. They have only beaten one sub 200 ranked opponent on the road out of their 5 games. All of their other road wins were against a 200+ ranked team and games they should’ve won.

The Bearkats may not have as good as an offense as ACU, but they can definitely hang. They average 70.1 ppg and limit teams to 63.8 ppg. They have a much stronger defense in this matchup, which was a key factor the first time they faced. Sam Houston also is great on the glass. Offensively, they rank 55th in offensive rebounding and grab 35 offensive boards a game.

This will be a huge advantage because the Wildcats are ranked 234th for defensive rebounding and 265th in offensive rebounding. Sam Houston also holds an edge in 3 point shooting. They shoot the 3 well and defend the 3 well. Shooting 35.7% from 3 and forcing teams to shoot 31.7%, which is what ACU shoots.

• ACU is 2-8-1 ats in their last 11 games
• ACU is 2-5 ats in their last 7 games vs Sam Houston
• ACU is 2-6 in their last 8 games vs Sam Houston
• ACU is 1-6 in their last 7 games playing on the road vs Sam Houston
• ACU is 5-2 ats in their last 7 games in February
• Sam Houston is 8-2 ats in their last 10 games
• Sam Houston is 4-1 ats in their last 5 Thursday games
• Sam Houston is 4-1 ats in their last 5 games as a favorite
• The home team in the matchup is 4-1 ats in their last 5 games

This will be a tough and fun game to watch. Sam Houston has already proven that they can hang with and slow down ACU’s offensive attack. They have the edge on defense and rebounding, which will be a key factor in this game. Offenses can struggle on the road and ACU does not have the defense to compete in this one if their offense isn’t putting up points.

The trends also are very much in favor of Sam Houston. The home team has won this matchup 7 of the last 10 times. Sam Houston also has more to play for with the conference title in reach!