Samford basketball to host Mercer Monday on Military Appreciation Night
The Samford University basketball team will continue its four-game Southern Conference homestand Monday at 6 p.m. (CST) as the Bulldogs welcome the third-place Mercer Bears to the Pete Hanna Center (5,000) for a marquee league showdown to be televised live by the American Sports Network.
GRAY OUT
Bulldog fans are encouraged to wear gray Monday versus Mercer. Additionally, Samford's team will be wearing its dark gray, anthracite uniforms in the contest. So far this season, the Bulldogs are 1-1 when donning the jerseys.
Samford (11-11, 2-7 SoCon) heads into the contest with hopes of ending a three-game losing streak. Since running past Western Carolina on Jan. 16, 84-68, the Bulldogs have dropped consecutive league games against VMI, 83-76, UNCG, 86-78, and Chattanooga Saturday, 63-56. Monday's game will be shown on ASN and Samford has already played nine nationally broadcast games this year.
WHAT'S TRENDING . . .
? Samford is in the midst of a four-game homestand and will play seven games in 15 days from Jan. 30 - Feb. 13. The Bulldogs are currently 5-3 when playing at home this season.
? In the last five games, Samford's Wyatt Walker is averaging 16.0 points and 9.2 rebounds.
? The Bulldogs' Darius Jones-Gibson is ranked No. 18 in the nation in free-throw attempts (161).
? As a team, Samford is ranked 30th in the country in turnovers forced per game (15.5).
SCOUTING THE COMPETITION
Mercer (16-6, 6-3 SoCon) enters Monday's matchup with a full head of steam after defeating VMI, 73-58, and UNCG, 81-67, at home last week. The Bears own a 10-0 home record this season and are already 5-0 in league play when competing in Macon, Georgia.
Mercer heads into Monday's contest as one of the best rebounding teams in the nation. The Bears are currently ranked ninth in all of Division I this year with a jaw-dropping rebounding margin of plus-10.4. Purdue leads the nation with a plus-12.3 margin.
Individually, sophomore forward Stephon Jelks is ranked No. 39 in the country with a total of 196 rebounds this season. Jelks is also averaging 11.8 points per game, while senior guard Jestin Lewis leads Mercer with 13.5 points per contest. The Bears are 3-6 on the road this season.
ROAD SWEET ROAD - - BULLDOGS SHOOTING BETTER AWAY FROM HOME
Typically, teams shoot much better at home than they do on the road, but that's not necessarily the case for the 2015-16 Bulldogs. From the field, Samford is shooting far better at home in the Pete Hanna Center (49.0% to 41.2%) this season, while the Bulldogs' numbers are surprisingly better on the road in both 3-point shooting (32.7% to 31.3%) and free-throw shooting (74.3% to 64.8%).
THE FOUR HORSEMEN
Samford's top three active leaders in points, rebounds, assists and steals are all a combination of the following four players: Jones-Gibson, Cunningham, Johnson and Shabazz.
Here in the latter half of the 2015-16 campaign, Jones-Gibson is ranked first in both points (719) and steals (65). The Bulldogs' senior guard is also listed second in active career rebounds (156) and assists with 141. Cunningham paces Samford in assists with 211 and is also ranked second on the team in points (619) and steals (63), while being listed third in rebounds (153).
Johnson, the Bulldogs' senior guard from Washington, D.C., is ranked third on the team in points (348), assists (105) and steals (43), while Shabazz is ranked first in rebounds (159) and third on the team in 3-point field goals (38).
MILITARY APPRECIATION & LOCAL HERO NIGHT
Monday is "Military Appreciation and Local Hero Night" for Samford basketball. Show military ID or your first responders badge for FREE admission. We are also encouraging fans to wear gray shirts as our team will be in their gray uniforms against Mercer.
--Al.com
The Samford University basketball team will continue its four-game Southern Conference homestand Monday at 6 p.m. (CST) as the Bulldogs welcome the third-place Mercer Bears to the Pete Hanna Center (5,000) for a marquee league showdown to be televised live by the American Sports Network.
GRAY OUT
Bulldog fans are encouraged to wear gray Monday versus Mercer. Additionally, Samford's team will be wearing its dark gray, anthracite uniforms in the contest. So far this season, the Bulldogs are 1-1 when donning the jerseys.
Samford (11-11, 2-7 SoCon) heads into the contest with hopes of ending a three-game losing streak. Since running past Western Carolina on Jan. 16, 84-68, the Bulldogs have dropped consecutive league games against VMI, 83-76, UNCG, 86-78, and Chattanooga Saturday, 63-56. Monday's game will be shown on ASN and Samford has already played nine nationally broadcast games this year.
WHAT'S TRENDING . . .
? Samford is in the midst of a four-game homestand and will play seven games in 15 days from Jan. 30 - Feb. 13. The Bulldogs are currently 5-3 when playing at home this season.
? In the last five games, Samford's Wyatt Walker is averaging 16.0 points and 9.2 rebounds.
? The Bulldogs' Darius Jones-Gibson is ranked No. 18 in the nation in free-throw attempts (161).
? As a team, Samford is ranked 30th in the country in turnovers forced per game (15.5).
SCOUTING THE COMPETITION
Mercer (16-6, 6-3 SoCon) enters Monday's matchup with a full head of steam after defeating VMI, 73-58, and UNCG, 81-67, at home last week. The Bears own a 10-0 home record this season and are already 5-0 in league play when competing in Macon, Georgia.
Mercer heads into Monday's contest as one of the best rebounding teams in the nation. The Bears are currently ranked ninth in all of Division I this year with a jaw-dropping rebounding margin of plus-10.4. Purdue leads the nation with a plus-12.3 margin.
Individually, sophomore forward Stephon Jelks is ranked No. 39 in the country with a total of 196 rebounds this season. Jelks is also averaging 11.8 points per game, while senior guard Jestin Lewis leads Mercer with 13.5 points per contest. The Bears are 3-6 on the road this season.
ROAD SWEET ROAD - - BULLDOGS SHOOTING BETTER AWAY FROM HOME
Typically, teams shoot much better at home than they do on the road, but that's not necessarily the case for the 2015-16 Bulldogs. From the field, Samford is shooting far better at home in the Pete Hanna Center (49.0% to 41.2%) this season, while the Bulldogs' numbers are surprisingly better on the road in both 3-point shooting (32.7% to 31.3%) and free-throw shooting (74.3% to 64.8%).
THE FOUR HORSEMEN
Samford's top three active leaders in points, rebounds, assists and steals are all a combination of the following four players: Jones-Gibson, Cunningham, Johnson and Shabazz.
Here in the latter half of the 2015-16 campaign, Jones-Gibson is ranked first in both points (719) and steals (65). The Bulldogs' senior guard is also listed second in active career rebounds (156) and assists with 141. Cunningham paces Samford in assists with 211 and is also ranked second on the team in points (619) and steals (63), while being listed third in rebounds (153).
Johnson, the Bulldogs' senior guard from Washington, D.C., is ranked third on the team in points (348), assists (105) and steals (43), while Shabazz is ranked first in rebounds (159) and third on the team in 3-point field goals (38).
MILITARY APPRECIATION & LOCAL HERO NIGHT
Monday is "Military Appreciation and Local Hero Night" for Samford basketball. Show military ID or your first responders badge for FREE admission. We are also encouraging fans to wear gray shirts as our team will be in their gray uniforms against Mercer.
--Al.com
