The Lamar Cardinals and Western Carolina Catamounts meet Saturday in college basketball action at the Legacy Center. The Lamar Cardinals look for a 3-1 start. The Western Carolina Catamounts look for a .500 record.
The Lamar Cardinals are averaging 75.7 points on 44.6 percent shooting and allowing 69 points on 37.8 percent shooting. Jakevion Buckley is averaging 18.3 points and 3.7 assists, while Chris Pryor is averaging 16.7 points and 5.3 rebounds. Terry Anderson is the third double-digit scorer and Adam Hamilton is grabbing 4 rebounds. The Lamar Cardinals are shooting 27.1 percent from beyond the arc and 63.4 percent from the free throw line. The Lamar Cardinals are allowing 30.5 percent shooting from deep and are grabbing 38 rebounds per game.
The Western Carolina Catamounts are averaging 72.7 points on 38.3 percent shooting and allowing 61.3 points on 36.9 percent shooting. Tyzhaun Claude is averaging 14.3 points and 8.7 rebounds, while Tre Jackson is averaging 12 points and 3 assists. Marcus Kell is the third double-digit scorer and Tyler Harris is dishing 0.7 rebounds. The Western Carolina Catamounts are shooting 35.2 percent from beyond the arc and 84.8 percent from the free throw line. The Western Carolina Catamounts are allowing 18.8 percent shooting from deep and are grabbing 41 rebounds per game.
The Lamar Cardinals have probably the best player on the floor in this matchup, and both teams have been solid defensively. However, the Western Carolina Catamounts are more battle tested with competitive contests against Georgia and Maryland. Half of Lamar’s games up to this point weren’t against division I teams. Give me Western Carolina and whatever the line is.