There were no big surprises again last night, and here are the results:
Arkansas-Monticello 74, Henderson State 65
The Weevils extended their winning streak to five games against a tough Henderson State team. The free throw line was their best friend, since the Reddies fouled them 29 times, resulting in 42 attempts. UAM made an amazing 39 of those shots, which helped them overcome a poor shooting night from the field (36%) and pick up the win. M’Jumbe Williams and Nate Newell had 26 points each, combining to hit 31 of 32 free throws. Levi Harris and Demontrian Drake led the Reddies, who are still having trouble getting last year’s best player, Dedric Spooner, to perform at all. Spooner had just 3 points in 24 minutes, while Harris and Drake combined for 29. The Weevils are now 2-0 in the GSC West, while the Reddies fell to 0-2 as they opened conference play against the league’s top two teams.
Computer prediction: UAM 66-60 (prediction quality: 9.5)
My prediction: UAM 68-61 (PQ = 7)
Central Arkansas 61, Ouachita Baptist 58
The UCA Bears improved to 2-0 in the GSC West with this win, which was led by LeMar Phillips’ 19 points and 7 rebounds. Lucky Butler had 17 points and 8 boards for the Tigers, who fell to 1-1, 9-6 overall. Like the Weevils, the Bears overcame a poor shooting night (33%) with some help from the free throw line. UCA made 24 of 27 free throws, while OBU made just 5 of 10 despite a solid 46% shooting performance. UCA’s schedule gets progressively more difficult, with ATU and Henderson State up next, followed by HU, UAM, and Delta State. The Tigers have a similar schedule after their next game at home against Christian Brothers.
Computer prediction: UCA 64-62 (PQ = 4.5)
My prediction: UCA 66-60 (PQ = 6.5)
Arkansas Tech 67, Southern Arkansas 56
Ike O’Hanson and Denarryl Rice did most of the damage for Arkansas Tech in this victory, which evened the Wonder Boys’ record in GSC play at 1-1. O’Hanson had 16 points and 14 rebounds, and Rice added 16 points of his own. The Muleriders had a balanced scoring attack, but it was Lonnie Jackson’s 7 steals that kept them in the game most of the way. ATU was plagued by turnovers, but a huge edge in rebounding negated that problem and helped them pull away at the end. These two teams are headed in different directions, as the win was the tenth overall for ATU (10-3), and the loss was #10 for SAU (3-10).
Computer prediction: ATU 67-66 (PQ = 15)
My prediction: ATU 68-66 (PQ = 14.5)
Delta State 82, Harding 68
Computer prediction: DSU 87-85 (PQ = 23)
My prediction: DSU 88-81 (PQ = 16.5)
Prediction Summary
Computer: 4-0, average PQ of 13.0 (7-1 overall, PQ = 14.4)
Me: 4-0, average PQ of 11.1 (8-0 overall, PQ = 13.1)
Team with higher net efficiency: 4-0 (8-0 overall)
Team with better record: 4-0 (7-1 overall)
Home team: 1-3 (4-4 overall)
jfwiii.net 