Game #26 - Samford Bulldogs (the rematch)

Who: Samford Bulldogs

Where: Hanna Center, Homewood, AL
When: Wednesday, February 14, 2024
Time: 9 pm (ET)
Radio: Catamount Sports Network
TV/Video: ESPNU 
Live Stats: Live Stats
Enrollment: 5,791
Nickname: Bulldogs
Colors: Blue and Red

Head Coach: Bucky McMillan enters his fourth season as head coach of the Samford University Men's Basketball team. McMillan was named Samford's 29th head men’s basketball coach on April 6, 2020.

McMillan's Record at Samford: 62-37 / 4th season
McMillan's Record vs. WCU: 6-0
Gray's Record vs. Samford: 0-5

Samford Current Record: 22-3 overall, 14-0 home, 8-3 away, 0-0 neutral, 11-1 conference.
Samford Last Season's Record: 21-11 overall, 13-3 home, 8-7 away, 0-1 neutral, 15-3 conference.

The Series: In the series that tipped off in 1970, the Cats are 14-17 overall vs. the Bulldogs, thanks to a 6-game skid against Samford by the Catamounts. Western is 3-7 in the last 10 games played but is 3-12 against Samford in games played in Homewood.

The Rematch - this time the Cats travel to Samford's home court, where they have only 3 wins out of 15 games.

In the preseason polls, the coaches picked Samford to finish in 4th place, while the media picked Samford and Western Carolina in a tie for second place, and senior forward Jermaine Marshall was picked as preseason all-conference. Samford has won its last 15-straight game for a school record for longest win streak, interestingly 12 of those 15 wins have come in Homewood, AL, in the Pete Hanna Center - the home court of the Bulldogs.

So far this season, Samford has been led by junior Achor Achor, averaging 15.4 points and 5.7 rebounds per game, leading the team in both categories. Junior A.J. Staton-McCray is averaging 13.1 points and 4.8 rebounds per game. Rylan Jones leads the team in assists, dishing out 5.4 assists per contest. Samford ranks in the top 10 in the nation in several categories, bench points per game (5th-38.80 ppg.), assists per game (3rd-20.5), fastbreak points per game (2nd-18.47 pg.), scoring offense (4th-89.5 ppg.), steals per game (6th-11.0 pg.), three-point percentage (5th-40.6%) and turnovers forced per game (8th-18.00 pg.).

Samford currently leads the SoCon in scoring (88.8 ppg.), scoring margin (+14.9), field goal percentage (.490), three-point field goal percentage (.404), turnover margin (3.38), assists (20.00 pg.) and steals (10.88 pg.). Individually, A.J. Staton-McCray leads the SoCon in free throw percentage (.891) and ranks third in steals (1.7 pg.). Achor Achor leads the league in field goal percentage (.617) and ranks third in blocked shots (1.7 pg.). Rylan Jones ranks first in assist-to-turnover ratio (3.7) and fourth in assists (5.4 pg.).