ABILENE – After closing out the majority of their non-conference schedule, the Wildcats open conference play before the holidays with the new expanded Southland Conference schedule. ACU will kick off their title defense with a trip to the preseason conference favorite, New Orleans, where they will get a great early conference-season test. Their opening week will not get much easier as they will return home for a matchup with Nicholls on Saturday who has started their season with several impressive outings.
FOLLOW THE GAME
- ACU at New Orleans: Wednesday, Dec. 18 – 7:00 p.m. – Sidearm (Live Stats), Privateer Sports Network (Live Video), 98.1 The Ticket with
Grant Boone (Radio Broadcast)
- ACU vs Nicholls: Saturday, Dec. 21 – 7:00 p.m. – StatBroadcast (Live Stats), ESPN+ (Live video), 98.1 The Ticket with
Grant Boone (Radio Broadcast)
SERIES HISTORY (UNO)
- Since joining the Southland Conference the Wildcats are 4-4 against the Privateers but are still searching for their first win in New Orleans.
- The Wildcats and Privateers last faced off in the Southland Conference Championship game where ACU won 77-60 and punched their ticket to their first ever NCAA Tournament in the DI era.
- In their meeting in the conference tournament two returners had significant games with
Joe Pleasant scoring 14 off the bench and
Payten Ricks scoring nine points with three rebounds and three assists.
- Four of their last six meetings have been decided by nine points or less.
SERIES HISTORY (NICHOLLS)
- The Wildcats are 2-4 against the Colonels since joining the Southland Conference, but the most recent meeting went in favor of the Wildcats, a 64-48 victory in Thibodaux.
- Of the four losses, three were decided by four or fewer points.
- Last season's win saw three different Wildcats score in double digits but none are returners this season. Of those players who returned this season, four of them scored for a total of 14 points in that game.
- Both of ACU's wins against Nicholls have been by 16-plus points.
ACU STORYLINES
- The Wildcats are on a three-game win streak that includes their first win over a Division I opponent (SEMO).
- ACU scored 100-plus points in each of their last two games which was the first time the team was able to accomplish that since the 1997-98 season, when head coach
Joe Golding was a player on the team.
- After holding their last two opponents under 40 points, the Wildcats are ranked 24
th in the country in scoring defense. They are holding opponents to 59.3 points per game.
- After playing two NCCAA schools, the Wildcats have claimed the top spot in the NCAA with a plus-9.0 turnover margin on the season.
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Payten Ricks continues to lead the Wildcats in scoring at 13.4 ppg, while
Joe Pleasant continues to average double figure scoring at just over 10 points per game. Both
Kolton Kohl and
Clay Gayman are averaging just over nine points per contest.
SCOUTING NEW ORLEANS
- The Privateers are currently averaging 80.2 points per game as a team with four different players averaging double figure scoring. They are led in scoring by senior, Bryson Robinson, at 15.4 ppg.
- UNO is still looking for their first Division I win, but they have played a tough DI schedule facing LSU, Mississippi State, Butler, Hawaii, and SMU all on the road.
- The team is ranked well for their offensive numbers on the season, but they are giving up almost 72 points per game which ranks 246
th in the NCAA>
- New Orleans returns three starters from last year's team as well as several key reserves.
SCOUTING NICHOLLS
- The Colonels are off to a 6-5 start on the season including a key win over ACC member, Pittsburg, in their second game of the season.
- In their opener, Nicholls pushed the Illini to overtime and lost by just eight points to the Power 5 school.
- The team has also faced LSU (lost by 10) and WVU (lost by 26), to round out a solid non-conference slate. They also picked up a win in Jamaica against previous NCAA tournament darling, UMBC.
- The Colonels are averaging 80.8 points per game and also have four players who are averaging double-digits on the season. They are led in scoring by redshirt senior, Dexter McClanahan, who is averaging 16.2 points per game.
- The Colonels return just four of the eight players who saw action in last year's game and just one of those returning players is a starter on this year's team.
