Samford hung around with Maryland in their last outing, concluding their run of three consecutive losses. However, Maryland and Kentucky (which made up two of the three losses) are nothing to sneeze at. The Bulldogs are not playing too poorly.
They are only 0-1 in SoCon play and still have a shot at getting into the bye race in the North. Plenty of Samford fans are hoping for this.
The offense has been faster paced than in years past. They are averaging about five points per game more than they did last year. Tyler Hood is averaging a team high 13.6 points per game since he was inserted into the starting lineup about a month ago. The freshman is also averaging 4.9 rebounds per game during that span, also a team high. Hood has been a real impact freshman.
Jeffrey Merritt leads the team in minutes played and rebounds. He is playing in just over 31 minutes per game, while averaging 8.9 points and 6.3 rebounds per contest. He also is second on the team in assists with 2.8 per game.
There are seven Bulldogs averaging at least two three point attempts per game. This is a team that likes to take a bunch of threes. They are making 35.3% of there three pointers, which is not a particulalry high percentage. yet nearly 49% of their shots are threes.
Appalachian State is relies on preseason SoCon Player of the Year, Omar Carter. He leads the team in scoring with 12.8 points per game. He is second on the team in rebounding with 5.8 rebounds per contest. But Carter has been struggling from three point range- he is shooting 29.3% from three point range. He is shooting just 43.1% from the field, and 58.8% from the free throw line. In other words, he has been a disappointment. The Mountaineers were counting on much more from him.
Fortunately for the Mountaineers, Jamaal Trice has stepped up. Trice is averaging 11.5 points per game. He is shooting 47.4% from three point range. Andre Williamson, the reigning SoCon Player of the Week, has also been playing well. Williamson is third on the team with 9.8 points per game, and 6.9 rebounds per game, and is the second leading shot blocker in the SoCon with 1.8 blocks per game. He is shooting 56% from the field.
Isaac Butts is also back after being injured last year. He is only playing 24 minutes per game and is second on the team in rebounds with 5.8 per game. He is also averaging 7.2 points per game.
KEYS TO THE GAME
--Appalachian State and Samford both are not particularly good rebounding teams, though the Mountaineers have a slight edge here. Appy will need to maintain the rebounding edge over the Bulldogs.
--Home court advantage. The Bulldogs have a chance to have a nice home court advantage in this game. They need to capitalize on this and keep the crowd in the game by jumping out to an early lead.
--Falling shots. The Bulldogs need to get the threes to fall to stay in this game. Not a great shooting team normally, they need to keep on shooting well.
LEAD PIPE LOCK PREDICTIONS THAT ARE SURE TO GO WRONG
--Samford will knock down shots. Not a ton of them, but more than enough to keep them in the game.
--Carter will score in double digits- meaning he won't score four as he has done three times this year, or two, which he finished with in one game.
--Appalachian State 73, Samford 72. Call it a gut feeling that the Bulldogs hang around in this one. The Mountaineers have lost five out of six, including a 30 point dismantling at the hands of Miami in their last game. Samford can win this game at home. The game means more to the Bulldogs, who need to get some positive momentum going and win some home games. But in the end, the talent level is much higher at Appalachian State, and they find a way to come up with a win.
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