Basketball: Lamar Preview

Georgia Tech (1-1) vs Lamar (1-1)

2020/2021 records: Georgia Tech 17-9 ; Lamar 10-18

KenPom Rankings: Georgia Tech - 55; Lamar - 288

Efficiency Rankings: Georgia Tech - Offense 79th, Defense 39th; Lamar - Offense 260th, Defense 347th

KenPom Prediction: Georgia Tech 82 - 62 Lamar. Georgia Tech is given a 97% chance to win.

About Lamar

The Lamar Cardinals enter the matchup sitting at 1-1 on the young season. They opened the year with a 17 point victory over Division 3 opponent Wiley and followed that up with a 29 point loss to Miami (OH). Last season, Lamar finished 10-18, ending their campaign with a loss to eventual conference champ Abilene Christian in the semifinals of the Southland Conference Tournament.

The Cardinals leading scorer from last year, senior Davion Buster returns for this season. Buster averaged 15 points per game last season but has been held in check through two games so far, scoring just 14 points on only 12 field goal attempts. Sophomore guard Kasen Harrison may be the player to watch for the Cardinals, scoring 24 points through two games after averaging 13.1 points per game in his freshman season. Harrison also gets his teammates involved, leading the team in assists last season.

The Cardinals enter the 2022 campaign as members of a new conference after a long affiliation with the Southland Conference, which they originally joined in 1963. As of June 30, 2021, Lamar transitioned to the Western Athletic Conference (WAC), along with Abilene Christian, Stephen F. Austin, Sam Houston State, and Southern Utah.

This is the second matchup all time in the Georgia Tech Lamar head to head series. The Jackets won the first meeting 88-69 on November 9, 2018.

Prediction

The Jackets cannot afford another early loss, especially to a team of the caliber of Lamar. I expect Tech to look much more like the team we saw in the Stetson game and should finish up the three game homestand with a easy double digit victory.

Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports