After a big win over conference-leading App, Texas State will attempt the home sweep of the Carolina teams with Coastal coming into Strahan at 5pm on Saturday.
Saturday Schedule
South Alabama @ Georgia State (-2.5) - 1pm
ULM (-2) @ Little Rock - 2pm
Troy @ Georgia Southern (-1.5) - 3pm
Louisiana @ Arkansas State (-2) - 4pm
Coastal Carolina @ Texas State (-4.5) - 5pm
App State @ UTA (-1.5) - 5pm
Conference Standings
1. App State 8-3
2. Troy 6-3
3. Arkansas State/Texas State 5-3
5. South Alabama 5-4
6. Louisiana/UTA 5-5
8. Coastal Carolina/Georgia Southern 4-5
10. ULM 3-8
* below 80% threshold*
11. Georgia State/Little Rock 2-5
NET Rankings
125. South Alabama (-2)
140. Texas State (-)
150. Coastal Carolina (-1)
152. Arkansas State (-17)
155. App State (-5)
165. Troy (+7)
178. Louisiana (+16)
210. Georgia Southern (+9)
221. UTA (-)
236. Georgia State (-5)
271. ULM (+13)
316. Little Rock (-8)
TXST News
Coastal is 12-9 on the season overall and 4-5 in conference play, sitting in a tie for 8th. Their best win on the season is an early season home win over South Carolina. They also had a solid home win over a good Wofford team. They also had 2 bad non-conference losses as well though, losing on the road at UNC-Wilmington and their worst loss of the season: a home loss to Mercer.
The Chants had a good season last year going 18-8 overall and 9-5 in conference play, finishing 2nd in the East. They got knocked out by App in the SBC tourney semifinals, but got a CBI invite and beat Bryant and Stetson to make the championship game where they lost to Pepperdine. They were picked to finish 7th this year in the SBC preseason poll.
To be honest I'm kind of learning about this roster as I type this. We didn't play them last year in the Covid year and they've turned over basically their entire roster from 2 years ago. I only recognize 2 or 3 names on the roster. The main player to keep an eye on is 6'9" So. C Essam Mostafa from Cairo. Mostafa averaged 12.2 PPG last year to finish 3rd best on the team and is now the main guy with the top 2 scorers from last year gone (their stud G from last year DeVante' Jones transferred to Michigan). Mostafa was named a preseason 3rd-team all-SBC selection this year and is Coastal's leading scorer so far at 15.0 PPG to put him as the 6th leading scorer in the conference. He's also the league's 2nd best rebounder at 9.8 RPG, is 2nd in the league with a 51.3% FG%, 5th in blocks with 1.2 per game, and 2nd in both offensive and defensive rebounds per game. We've struggled at times with taller talented true centers so it will be interesting to see how we approach Mostafa.
Just behind Mostafa in scoring (by 2 points on the season) is 6'6" Sr. G Vince Cole, who's a St. John's transfer. Cole played in every game for St John's last year, started 22 of 27 games, averaged 8.7 PPG, and scored in double figures 10 times. So an integral part of a 16-11 Big East team. In his 1st season with Coastal he's sitting 7th in the league in scoring at 15.0 PPG. Mainly a 3-point shooter, Cole is still 7th in the conference in FG% despite taking over half his attempts from 3, which is a pretty remarkable stat. As you might imagine he's leading the conference in 3-point % at 41.8%. His 56 made 3s are 2nd most in the conference.
Another scorer to watch and another big transfer for Coastal this year is 6'2" Sr. G Rudi Williams from Kansas State. Williams wasn't quite the contributor at K-State as Cole was at St. Johns but he still played in 27 games last year with 4 starts and averaged 5 points a game. He's 3rd on the team for the Chants this year at 13.3 PPG (12th in the SBC). He's also 9th in the league with 3.3 APG and 7th in assist-to-turnover ratio at 1.8. One last player to keep an eye on is one I do remember from 2 years ago in point guard Ebrima Dibba from Sweden. Dibba isn't a huge scorer (7.8 PPG), but runs the Coastal offense well and has monster size for a PG at 6'6". He plays the 3rd most minutes per game in the league and leads the conference with 6.2 APG and 3rd in assist-to-turnover ratio at 2.2. He's also 8th in the league with 1.4 steals per game.
After playing the lowest scoring team in the league in App on Thursday we turn around and play the highest scoring team in the league in Coastal, who's putting up 74.8 PPG. Their +9.2 scoring margin is 2nd best in the league. Their defense is good too as they concede just a league-low 37.9% FG% to opponents and also a league-low 29.0% from 3. Speaking of 3s, they shoot it well themselves from there at 36.0%, 2nd best in the league behind Texas State. They're a good rebounding team also with the top rebounding margin in the league, anchored by Mostafa. Statistically this team looks better on paper than their record indicates, especially in conference play. The only real weakness is they don't force many turnovers for a team that plays so fast (just 6.1 SPG, 2nd lowest in the league) which has led to them having the 2nd-worst turnover margin in the league. If we can take care of the ball and turn them over it could be a big advantage for us. Still, this is a dangerous team. Despite the 4-5 conference record I still hear of them as SBC tourney contenders with the likes of USA, App, and Texas State. This will be another tough game.
Last Meeting/Series History
Saturday's game will be 1 day short of 2 years since these programs last met. A dominating 100-63 thrashing in Conway with the Bobcats winning easily. TXST has won the last 5 meetings in the series and leads the overall series 8-2. That said, the record is just 2-2 in Strahan Arena.
Betting Odds
Texas State opened up as 4.5 point favorites and that hasn't budged at all. Will be interesting to see what it does overnight. I figured we'd be somewhere in the realm of 2-5 point favorites at home.
Coastal Message Board
Saturday Schedule
South Alabama @ Georgia State (-2.5) - 1pm
ULM (-2) @ Little Rock - 2pm
Troy @ Georgia Southern (-1.5) - 3pm
Louisiana @ Arkansas State (-2) - 4pm
Coastal Carolina @ Texas State (-4.5) - 5pm
App State @ UTA (-1.5) - 5pm
Conference Standings
1. App State 8-3
2. Troy 6-3
3. Arkansas State/Texas State 5-3
5. South Alabama 5-4
6. Louisiana/UTA 5-5
8. Coastal Carolina/Georgia Southern 4-5
10. ULM 3-8
* below 80% threshold*
11. Georgia State/Little Rock 2-5
NET Rankings
125. South Alabama (-2)
140. Texas State (-)
150. Coastal Carolina (-1)
152. Arkansas State (-17)
155. App State (-5)
165. Troy (+7)
178. Louisiana (+16)
210. Georgia Southern (+9)
221. UTA (-)
236. Georgia State (-5)
271. ULM (+13)
316. Little Rock (-8)
TXST News
- Texas State is coming off a 68-66 home win over conference-leading App State. The win improves the Bobcats to 14-6 on the season and 5-3 in conference play, improving TXST from 5th place to a tie for 3rd place in the league.
- PG Mason Harrell had a career-high 8 assists vs. App State. Kind of surprising he hasn't had 8 or more before. Harrell's scoring has dipped lately but he's still contributing in other ways. Hopefully his scoring comes back around soon for the final stretch of the season.
- Some highlights from yesterday's win over App:
Coastal is 12-9 on the season overall and 4-5 in conference play, sitting in a tie for 8th. Their best win on the season is an early season home win over South Carolina. They also had a solid home win over a good Wofford team. They also had 2 bad non-conference losses as well though, losing on the road at UNC-Wilmington and their worst loss of the season: a home loss to Mercer.
The Chants had a good season last year going 18-8 overall and 9-5 in conference play, finishing 2nd in the East. They got knocked out by App in the SBC tourney semifinals, but got a CBI invite and beat Bryant and Stetson to make the championship game where they lost to Pepperdine. They were picked to finish 7th this year in the SBC preseason poll.
To be honest I'm kind of learning about this roster as I type this. We didn't play them last year in the Covid year and they've turned over basically their entire roster from 2 years ago. I only recognize 2 or 3 names on the roster. The main player to keep an eye on is 6'9" So. C Essam Mostafa from Cairo. Mostafa averaged 12.2 PPG last year to finish 3rd best on the team and is now the main guy with the top 2 scorers from last year gone (their stud G from last year DeVante' Jones transferred to Michigan). Mostafa was named a preseason 3rd-team all-SBC selection this year and is Coastal's leading scorer so far at 15.0 PPG to put him as the 6th leading scorer in the conference. He's also the league's 2nd best rebounder at 9.8 RPG, is 2nd in the league with a 51.3% FG%, 5th in blocks with 1.2 per game, and 2nd in both offensive and defensive rebounds per game. We've struggled at times with taller talented true centers so it will be interesting to see how we approach Mostafa.
Just behind Mostafa in scoring (by 2 points on the season) is 6'6" Sr. G Vince Cole, who's a St. John's transfer. Cole played in every game for St John's last year, started 22 of 27 games, averaged 8.7 PPG, and scored in double figures 10 times. So an integral part of a 16-11 Big East team. In his 1st season with Coastal he's sitting 7th in the league in scoring at 15.0 PPG. Mainly a 3-point shooter, Cole is still 7th in the conference in FG% despite taking over half his attempts from 3, which is a pretty remarkable stat. As you might imagine he's leading the conference in 3-point % at 41.8%. His 56 made 3s are 2nd most in the conference.
Another scorer to watch and another big transfer for Coastal this year is 6'2" Sr. G Rudi Williams from Kansas State. Williams wasn't quite the contributor at K-State as Cole was at St. Johns but he still played in 27 games last year with 4 starts and averaged 5 points a game. He's 3rd on the team for the Chants this year at 13.3 PPG (12th in the SBC). He's also 9th in the league with 3.3 APG and 7th in assist-to-turnover ratio at 1.8. One last player to keep an eye on is one I do remember from 2 years ago in point guard Ebrima Dibba from Sweden. Dibba isn't a huge scorer (7.8 PPG), but runs the Coastal offense well and has monster size for a PG at 6'6". He plays the 3rd most minutes per game in the league and leads the conference with 6.2 APG and 3rd in assist-to-turnover ratio at 2.2. He's also 8th in the league with 1.4 steals per game.
After playing the lowest scoring team in the league in App on Thursday we turn around and play the highest scoring team in the league in Coastal, who's putting up 74.8 PPG. Their +9.2 scoring margin is 2nd best in the league. Their defense is good too as they concede just a league-low 37.9% FG% to opponents and also a league-low 29.0% from 3. Speaking of 3s, they shoot it well themselves from there at 36.0%, 2nd best in the league behind Texas State. They're a good rebounding team also with the top rebounding margin in the league, anchored by Mostafa. Statistically this team looks better on paper than their record indicates, especially in conference play. The only real weakness is they don't force many turnovers for a team that plays so fast (just 6.1 SPG, 2nd lowest in the league) which has led to them having the 2nd-worst turnover margin in the league. If we can take care of the ball and turn them over it could be a big advantage for us. Still, this is a dangerous team. Despite the 4-5 conference record I still hear of them as SBC tourney contenders with the likes of USA, App, and Texas State. This will be another tough game.
Last Meeting/Series History
Saturday's game will be 1 day short of 2 years since these programs last met. A dominating 100-63 thrashing in Conway with the Bobcats winning easily. TXST has won the last 5 meetings in the series and leads the overall series 8-2. That said, the record is just 2-2 in Strahan Arena.
Betting Odds
Texas State opened up as 4.5 point favorites and that hasn't budged at all. Will be interesting to see what it does overnight. I figured we'd be somewhere in the realm of 2-5 point favorites at home.
Coastal Message Board
