ULM (16-15, 9-9) vs. AUSTIN PEAY (18-14, 12-6)
CollegeInsider.com Tournament
Thursday, March 15 | 7 p.m. CT
Clarksville, Tenn. | Dunn Center (7,257)
ULM Basketball CIT Notes: Game 32 vs. Austin Peay
ULM EARNS 12TH POSTSEASON APPEARANCE –
ULM (16-15) is making its 12th postseason appearance in program history. It marks the Warhawks' third trip to postseason play in the last four years, including their second appearance in the CollegeInsider.com Tournament (first in 2016).
ULM, picked to finish 12th in the Sun Belt preseason poll, got off to a 1-6 start in conference play, but the Warhawks won eight of their last 11 league games to climb into a tie for fifth place (9-9) in the final standings.
THE STARTING FIVE –
• ULM, picked to finish 12th in the Sun Belt preseason poll, got off to a 1-6 start in conference play, but the Warhawks won eight of their last 11 league games to climb into a tie for fifth place (9-9) in the final standings.
• ULM junior forward Travis Munnings (second team) and senior guard/forward Sam McDaniel (third team), who combine to average 31 points and 13 rebounds per game, were named All-Sun Belt, as selected by the league's head basketball coaches and media panel. In addition, guard Michael Ertel was selected Sun Belt Freshman of the Year. The trio of Munnings, McDaniel and Ertel combine to average 43 points per game, accounting for 61 percent of ULM's scoring.
• ULM's starting lineup features four double-figure scorers, in Travis Munnings (15.8 points per game), Sam McDaniel (15.4 ppg.), Michael Ertel (11.5 ppg.) and Marvin Jean-Pierre (10.8 ppg.) . All four players rank among the Sun Belt's Top 30 in scoring: Munnings (11th), McDaniel (12th), Ertel (23rd) and Jean-Pierre (28th).
• ULM ranks among the Sun Belt leaders in 3-point field goals made (second at 9.1 per game), assist-to-turnover ratio (second at 1.2), 3-point field-goal percentage (third at .363), scoring defense (third at 68.0 ppg.), assists (third at 14.1 pg.), turnover margin (third at +1.5 pg.), free-throw percentage (fifth at .718), field-goal percentage defense (sixth at .427) and steals (sixth at 6.5 pg.).
• Three-point field goals account for 39 percent of ULM's scoring (282 3-pointers made; 846 of 2,169 points). The Warhawks have attempted at least 20 3-pointers in 23 of 31 games.
ULM's 282 3-pointers made in 2017-18 are the second-highest single-season total in school history (school record: 287 made, 2006-07).
ULM POSTSEASON HISTORY –
ULM is making its 12th postseason appearance in program history. It marks the Warhawks' third trip to postseason play in the last four years, including their second appearance in the CollegeInsider.com Tournament. In 2016, ULM dropped its first-round CIT game at Furman, 58-57.
In addition, ULM has made seven appearances in the NCAA Tournament (1982, 1986, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993 and 1996), two in the National Invitation Tournament (1979 and 1988) and one in the College Basketball Invitational (2015).
The Warhawks have an all-time record of 4-12 (.250) in postseason play: 1-7 in the NCAA Tournament, 0-2 in the NIT, 3-2 in the CBI and 0-1 in the CIT. ULM advanced to the CBI Championship Series in 2015.
ULM/AUSTIN PEAY SERIES NOTES –
Thursday's game marks the first meeting between ULM and Austin Peay.
WARHAWKS vs. OHIO VALLEY CONFERENCE TEAMS –
The Warhawks have compiled an 11-4 record (.733) against current members of the Ohio Valley Conference (4-0 vs. Eastern Illinois, 2-1 vs. Jacksonville State, 2-0 vs. Morehead State, 1-2 vs. Murray State and 2-1 vs. Tennessee Tech).
ULM/AUSTIN PEAY COMMON OPPONENTS IN 2017-18 –
ULM and Austin Peay played two common opponents (Jacksonville State and Troy) in 2017-18. The Warhawks went 1-2, with a road loss to the Gamecocks and a regular-season Sun Belt split against the Trojans, while the Governors posted a 3-0 record, including an Ohio Valley Conference sweep against Jacksonville State and a home win over Troy.
SHARP-SHOOTING WARHAWKS –
ULM is 9-1 when shooting 50 percent or better from the field in 2017-18, with wins over Rust College (.603), Jackson State (.500), Millsaps College (.582), Centenary (.527), Coastal Carolina (.500), South Alabama (.527), Georgia State (.567), Texas State (.545) and Arkansas State (.500), and its only loss came in the regular-season finale against Arkansas State (.509).
ERTEL EMERGES AS CONSISTENT SCORING THREAT –
Guard Michael Ertel, who has started 26 of 31 games and ranks third on the team in scoring at 11.5 points per game, was selected Sun Belt Freshman of the Year. Ertel became the first Warhawk to earn conference Freshman of the Year honors since ULM joined the league in 2007-08.
The 6-foot-2 Ertel has scored in double figures 16 times, including 10 league games. He also ranked as ULM's third-leading scoring in Sun Belt play, averaging 13.0 points per game. His 52 3-pointers ranks third on the team.
His scoring average increased to 14.4 points during ULM's late-season surge (9-3 record during 12-game stretch) while shooting 46 percent (67-of-147) from the field during that span.
He added 13 points in the conference tournament quarterfinals and scored 12 points in his Sun Belt Championship debut against Arkansas State (5-of-12 FG shooting).
The Indianapolis, Indiana, native scored 14 of his 18 points in the second half in the regular-season home finale against Arkansas State (5-of-7 FG shooting including 3-of-3 3-pointers in the second half).
He contributed 17 points in ULM's 66-62 win at South Alabama.
Ertel hit 8-of-12 field-goal attempts in ULM's 79-71 victory over Texas State and finished with 19 points and five assists. He tossed in a team-high 20 points in the Warhawks' 84-71 win over UT Arlington while connecting on 9-of-18 shots from the floor.
Ertel scored eight of his 21 points in overtime in the Warhawks' 90-82 win at Georgia State, hitting 8-of-13 shots from the floor including 3-of-6 3-pointers. He also added five rebounds and a season-high six assists against the Panthers.
Ertel added 17 points (6-of-11 FG shooting) and seven rebounds against South Alabama.
He led ULM in scoring in three-straight games, scoring a combined 56 points (18.7 ppg.) against Texas State, UT Arlington and Troy. Ertel finished with a season-high 22 points on 8-of-16 shooting from the field, including 2-of-6 3-pointers, in the Warhawks' 76-71 victory over Troy.
He scored 18 points at Texas State (7-of-13 FG shooting), with 16 coming of those in the second half. Ertel netted 13 of his 16 points in the second half at UTA (4-of-9 3FG shooting) and collected a season-high eight rebounds.
He hit 5-of-8 field-goal attempts, including 3-of-5 3-pointers, and finished with 15 points against Appalachian State.
ULM Basketball Signs Williams to NLI –
Javien "JD" Williams, a 6-foot-4, 175-pound guard from Tallahassee Community College, has signed a National Letter of Intent to attend ULM and play basketball in 2018-19.
As a sophomore, Williams earned First-Team All-Panhandle Conference honors after leading the Eagles in scoring at 16.8 points per game. He scored in double figures in 22 of 27 games and finished third in the league in scoring. Williams increased his scoring average to 20.8 points in Panhandle Conference games, including a season-high 33 points at Northwest Florida State College (11-of-19 field-goal shooting, including 7-of-12 3-pointers).
"JD is a wing player, who is an electric athlete," ULM head basketball coach Keith Richard said. "His playmaking ability will add a nice dimension to our team next year."
A Birmingham, Ala., native, Williams began his collegiate career at UAB, where appeared in 33 games as a freshman in 2016-17, including three starting assignments. He averaged 4.0 points, 1.9 rebounds and 1.1 assists while playing 15.3 minutes per game. Williams reached double figures in scoring five times, including a career-high 21 points at Stephen F. Austin. He hit 6-of-9 shots from the field en route to a 13-point effort against Southern Miss. Williams contributed 14 points and collected a career-best seven rebounds at Rice. He had a solid all-around performance against Miles College, with 14 points, six rebounds and two assists. He posted 11 points and three rebounds in his collegiate debut against Arkansas-Pine Bluff.
Williams was named Alabama's 2016 Class 6A Player of the Year after averaging 24.2 points, 12.7 rebounds and 4.7 assists as a senior at Woodlawn High School. He scored 36 points, grabbed nine rebounds and recorded five assists against J.O. Johnson. He finished fourth in the voting for Alabama's Mr. Basketball in 2016.
As a junior, Williams averaged 21.4 points, 6.2 rebounds and 2.1 steals while leading the Colonels to the 2015 Class 6A Final Four. A finalist for the Birmingham News 2015 Player of the Year Award, he also was selected to the Alabama High School Athletic Association All-State Third Team and Birmingham News All-Metro First Team.
