Wildcats back home to take on Cardinals

Men's Basketball | 1/23/2015 3:26:00 PM

Live Stats l Live Audio l Live Audio / Video

ABILENE – The ACU Wildcats are back on the floor Saturday afternoon to take on Incarnate Word in a key Southland Conference men's basketball game at Moody Coliseum.

Tipoff is set for 4 p.m. and can be heard locally on 98.1 FM The Ticket. The game can be heard on the Web site at the98x.com and can be seen at www.acusports.com.

Incarnate Word enters the game as second-highest-scoring team in the nation at 86.0 points per game, having topped 100 points three times in 14 games. The Cardinals – who have beaten Nebraska, Princeton and Grand Canyon this season – are 9-5 after an 8-1 start to the year. The Cardinals have lost four of their last five games starting with a 76-47 loss at Tulsa on Dec. 22. They are 1-3 in conference with the only win coming in a 97-66 win over New Orleans onJan. 12.

ACU, meanwhile, enters the game at 9-9 overall and 3-2 in league play after back-to-back losses to Stephen F. Austin (82-64 last Saturday on CBS Sports Network) and 63-56 to McNeese State (Tuesday night in Lake Charles, La.).  

The ACU coaching staff will be wearing tennis shoes during the game as part of the National Association of Basketball Coaches' "Suits and Sneakers Awareness Week," which is part of the organization's Coaches vs. Cancer initiative. The mission of the Coaches vs. Cancer program is to increase cancer awareness and promote healthy living among students, faculty, school staff, fans, and the community at large, through year-round awareness efforts, fundraising activities, and advocacy programs.

The Dallas Mavericks' "Mavs ManiAACs" will also be in attendance at Saturday's doubleheader against Incarnate Word. The ManiAACs are an original male-performance dance squad in the NBA and have been performing at Dallas Mavericks' games since 2002. The ManiAACs are a hip-hop dance trouble of "beefy" men who entertain Mavericks' fans during home games and also make appearances around the country.

The ManiAACs – originally created to enhance the in-game experience for fans during the 2002 playoffs – became instant fan favorites that have continued to add to the festive environment of Mavs games and other special events including two all-star game performances (2005 and 2010).

The Cardinals enter Saturday afternoon's game with the nation's leading scorer in senior guard Denzel Livingston, who is averaging 23.3 points per game on 46.6 percent shooting from the field (104 of 223). He's also averaging 5.9 rebounds per game. This week he was named to the Lou Henson Award mid-season Watch List. The award goes to the "Mid-Major" Player of the year.

Freshman point guard Jontrell Walker is second on the team in scoring at 17.5 ppg, while junior guard Kyle Hittle is third on the team in scoring at 15.2 ppg. Incarnate Word is one of the top shooting teams in the league at 47.4 percent from the field, including 37.3 percent from 3-point range (114 of 306).

The Wildcats, meanwhile, are coming off a tough shooting night at McNeese State in the seven-point loss. ACU hit just 32.1 percent from the field (17 of 53), and only had one player and only had two players in double-figure scoring in the game (Harrison Hawkins with 12 and LaDarrien Williams with 11).

ACU's leading scorer, junior guard Parker Wentz, was held to just five points on 1 of 5 shooting, but he did pull down a career-high and team-best 10 rebounds in the contest. Wentz and Harrison lead the Wildcats in scoring at 13.4 ppg apiece, which is good for a tie for 14th in the league in scoring.

The Wildcats, however, are ranked last in the league in field goal percentage as they've hit just 41.3 percent of their shots on the season (425 of 1,030). ACU, however, is atop the league in free throw percentage (75. percent) and 3-point field goal percentage (39.4 percent).

After Saturday's game, the Wildcats will be back in Moody Coliseum at 7 p.m. Monday night for another Southland Contest against Sam Houston State, which plays league leader Stephen F. Austin at 4:30 p.m. Saturday in Huntsville. Both teams are unbeaten in league play.