BEAUMONT, Texas – It has been a tough start to the 2020-21 season for the Lamar University men's basketball team. Every team in the nation knew things would be different this year due to ongoing precautions with the COVID-19 virus. With that being said, the Cardinals have had the added weight of playing eight of their first nine games on road (LU also starts three of their first four Southland games away from Beaumont). In addition to all of that, LU head coach Tic Price has yet to play a game with his roster intact. All of those items together and the Cardinals have opened the season 0-3.
 
Big Red's first game of the year at No. 17 Houston got away from them in the second half, but the two games at the Tulane Classic (at Tulane and vs. Lipscomb) the Cardinals held leads but a lack of depth became an issue in the latter stages of the second half.
 
The Cardinals will look to flip the script Saturday when they travel to Colorado Springs, Colo., to take on the U.S. Air Force Academy. The Falcons enter Saturday's contest with a 1-1 (.500) overall record after opening the year with a 66-61 victory over Cal State Northridge. Air Force stepped on the court the following day to face Seattle but dropped a 63-45 decision. The Falcons were scheduled to have a third game under their belt prior to taking on Big Red (vs. Denver, Dec. 2^nd) but that game was postponed.
 
The Falcons are led by four players averaging at least 9.0 points per game on the season, including Chris Joyce team's high 13.5 per game. Joyce is one of two Falcons in double figures. Air Force is shooting the ball at a 42-percent clip, including a 17-of-45 (.378) effort from three-point range, but their being outscored by just less than seven points per game, and outrebounded by less than three rebounds per contest.
 
Houston native Anderson Kopp has triggered the Cardinals' offense through three games. The sophomore is third in the conference averaging 19 points per game and is coming off a career-high 24-point effort against Lipscomb in the final game of the Tulane Classic. After a slow start to the season, senior Avery Sullivan put up more typical numbers against the Bisons, and is second on the squad averaging better than 11 points and while pulling down nearly eight rebounds per game.
 
Saturday's contest will mark the third all-time meeting between the two programs with each team recording a victory on their home floor. The Cardinals win came during the 2003-04 season, while USAFA got the victory during the last meeting which came during the 2005-06 season.
 
Saturday's game is slated to tip off at 1 p.m. (2 p.m. Central time) and will be televised on the Mountain West Network.