The Sam Houston men’s basketball team will aim to end a seven-game losing streak on Thursday, as it returns home from a three-game road trip for a showdown with the top team in Conference USA.

SHSU is slated tip off against Jacksonville State at 6:30 p.m. at Johnson Coliseum.

The Bearkats are aiming to win their first game since Jan.11, when they defeated Florida International 81-74. They lost to Liberty on Saturday, falling to 1-10 in conference play.

Jacksonville State is coming off an 85-83 victory over Western Kentucky, which marked the Gamecocks’ eighth consecutive win.

“They are very tough and physical,” Sam Houston head coach Chris Mudge said. “They’re going to guard you and rebound at a high level, so you have to execute on both sides of the ball as well as you can, because they’re not going to beat themselves.

“They don’t have bad turnovers, they don’t have silly fouls. They’ve got a great identity and well-rounded team that is peaking at the right time.”

Returning home

Thursday will be the Bearkats’ first home game since Jan. 25 against Western Kentucky. Since then, they have lost three road games to Louisiana Tech, FIU, and Liberty.

Previous meeting 

Jacksonville State defeated the Bearkats 70-62 during their previous meeting on Jan. 18.

Josiah Hammons scored a team-high 20 points for Sam Houston. Cameron Huefner added 13 points, while Lamar Wilkerson finished with 12.

Jaron Pierre Jr. led the way for the Gamecocks with 20 points, followed by Quel’Ron House with 19 points. 

By the numbers

Sam Houston

KenPom offensive rating: 109.8 (121st)

KenPom defensive rating: 110.6 (237th)

NET ranking: -0.80 (202nd)

Record: 8-16 (1-10 in CUSA)

Jacksonville State

KenPom offensive rating: 112.1 (90th)

KenPom defensive rating: 107.6 (180th)

NET ranking: +4.50 (111th)

Record: 17-7 (9-2 in CUSA)