Wildcats back in action this week in California

Abilene Christian at Tigers Thanksgiving Classic

When: Thursday, Nov. 22-24, 2018
Where: Alex G. Spanos Center (Stockton, Calif.)
Opponents
      • Thursday, Nov. 22 – vs. Elon, N.C, 3 p.m. (5 p.m. Abilene time)
      • Friday, Nov. 23 – at Pacific, 5:30 p.m. (7:30 p.m. Abilene time)
      • Saturday, Nov. 24 ­– vs. UC-Riverside, 5:30 p.m. (7:30 p.m. Abilene time)
Radio: Thursday on 102.7 FM The BEAR / Friday and Saturday on 981. FM The Ticket
Records: Abilene Christian 3-0 / Elon 2-1 / Pacific 3-2 / UC-Riverside 1-3
Series: 0-0 vs. Elon / 0-0 vs. Pacific / 0-3 vs. UC-Riverside

This Week's Games
The Wildcats are in Stockton, California, this weekend for the Tigers Thanksgiving Classic, hosted by the University of the Pacific. The Wildcats will carry their 3-0 record to northern California for three games against Elon (N.C.), Pacific and California-Riverside. This trip to Stockton, California, is the first of two straight weekends the Wildcats will be in California; they'll be playing at Pepperdine in Malibu, California, on Saturday, Dec. 1.
 
All three games will be broadcast on the radio, although Thursday's game will be broadcast on 102.7 FM The BEAR while the Cowboys' annual Thanksgiving Day game takes precedence on 98.1 FM The Ticket. The Wildcats' final two games of the tournament on Friday and Saturday will both be on The Ticket with Grant Boone calling the action for all three games.
 
Scouting the Wildcats
• The Wildcats are 3-0 on the season for the first time in the program's NCAA Division I era (since the 2013-14 season).
 
• The Wildcats are 1-0 on the road following last Thursday night's 67-61 win at Denver.
 
• Since moving to the NCAA Division I level, the Wildcats are 0-3 in the state of California with losses at California-Riverside (December 2014), Sacramento State (December 2016) and San Francisco (December 2016).
 
• In their 97-plus years of collegiate basketball, the Wildcats have only played 14 games against teams from the state of California and are 6-8 in those games with wins over Cal State-Northridge, Pepperdine, Sacramento State, Cal State-Chico, Cal State-East Bay and Biola.
 
• Since the Wildcats moved to NCAA Division I affiliation prior to the start of the 2013-14 season, the Wildcats are 12-33 in non-conference Division I contests, including 5-26 in true road contests (9-28 when including a 4-2 record in neutral-site games). The Wildcats, however, are 6-6 in their last 12 non-conference Division I games dating back to the start of the 2017-18 season (2-0 this season), including 3-4 on the road.  
 
• ACU has led its three opponents for a combined 107 minutes, 32 seconds this season, including all 40 minutes in the win over Arkansas State and for 35:57 of the win over Denver. In the win over the Pioneers, the Wildcats took the lead for good on a Jaren Lewis 3-pointer with 5:42, leading the final 25:42 of the contest.
 
• ACU's largest deficit in a game this season was a 3-point deficit at Denver (12:02 left in the first half) that was quickly made up by a game-tying 3-pointer by Payten Ricks with 10:33 left in the first half. The Wildcats did not trail against Arlington Baptist or Arkansas State.
 
• In the Wildcats' Division I era, senior forward Jaren Lewis is the Wildcats' leader in total points (1,166) and rebounds (638), while senior guard Jaylen Franklin is the leader in points per game (12.5) and assists (355). He's also the leader in field goals made (445) and attempted (862).
 
• Lewis has recorded 15 double-doubles in his career, including one this season, an 18-point, 15-rebound tour de force against Arkansas State as part of a 94-73 ACU win on Nov. 9. The Wildcats are 7-8 in games in which Lewis records a double-double.
 
• Junior guard Payten Ricks had a career-high 23 points last Thursday (Nov. 15) in the 67-61 road win at Denver, a performance that included hitting 5 3-pointers (on 8 attempts) in the win. His previous scoring high was 19 in a loss at Lipscomb (Tenn.) last December, and his previous record for 3-pointers in a game was three last December against Arlington Baptist. Ricks has scored in double figures all three games this season and 13 times in his career. The Wildcats are 10-3 in those 13 games.
 
• The Wildcats' win at Denver was the 90^th in head coach Joe Golding's eighth season as the ACU head coach. ACU is 19-16 in its last 35 games.