Wildcats begin final road trip of season on Gulf Coast

ACU at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi

When: Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2019
Time: 7 p.m.
Where: American Bank Center (Corpus Christi, Texas)
Records: ACU 21-6, 10-4; A&M-Corpus Christi 11-16, 6-8
Series: TAMCC leads 9-1
Last Game: ACU 78, A&M-Corpus Christi 71 (Jan. 30, 2019 / Abilene, Texas)
Streak: ACU, w1
Last ACU win: ACU 78, A&M-Corpus Christi 71 (Jan. 30, 2019 / Abilene, Texas)
Last TAMCC win: TAMCC 76, ACU 67 (Feb. 22, 2018 / Abilene, Texas)
Radio: 98.1 FM (98theticket.com)
Watch: Islander Digital Network
Live Stats: SIDEARM

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – The Wildcats are in Corpus Christi Wednesday night to take on the Islanders of Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and they'll be looking for their first win over the Islanders in The Sparkling City By the Sea. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. from the American Bank Center.

The game can be heard locally on 98.1 FM The Ticket with Grant Boone calling the action.

Here are some notes going into Wednesday night's game:

• ACU is 21-6 overall and 10-4 in the league after last Saturday's 75-66 home loss vs. Southeastern Louisiana. ACU is in third place in the league, one-half game behind New Orleans (11-4) and one-half game ahead of the Lions of SLU, who are 10-5 in the Southland. ... Sam Houston leads the league at 14-1 and can win the regular-season league bye and secure a double-bye into the semifinals in the conference tournament with a win tonight at New Orleans.

• The Wildcats secured their spot in the conference tournament Saturday, despite the loss to the Lions. Central Arkansas was blown out at Nicholls, clinching ACU's first appearance in the Southland Conference Postseason Tournament and its first postseason conference tournament berth since it reached the semifinals of the Lone Star Conference Postseason Tournament in 2007-08. ... This will be just the third conference tournament appearance for the Wildcats since the 1997-98 season.

• The Wildcats are led by senior forward Jaren Lewis and senior point guard Jaylen Franklin, who are playing in the final four regular-season contests of their careers. ... Along with senior reserve forward Hayden Farquhar, the trio has led the Wildcats to a 63-56 overall mark and 33-35 Southland Conference record, including 37-22 overall and 18-14 in conference play the last two seasons.

• Franklin is second in the league in assists per game (4.7), third in total assists (128), fourth in total steals (49) and fourth in steals per game (1.81). ...  Among active NCAA Division I players, Franklin is tied for 10th in steals (208), 25th in total assists (468) and 28th in steals per game (1.81).

• Lewis is the Wildcats' leader in points scored (1,462) and total rebounds (773) in ACU's NCAA Division I era. ... In last Saturday's loss vs. SE Louisiana, Lewis scored 12 points to help him pass former All-American and director of athletics Jared Mosley (1,457 points from 1995-99) for 12th on ACU's all-time scoring list. ... Next up for Lewis on the scoring list is John Ray Godfrey, who scored 1,467 points from 1964-68, helping the Wildcats to three Southland Conference titles. ... Lewis is also close to moving into the top six on the career rebounding list as he enters Wednesday night's game with 773 career rebounds, 11 away from surpassing Greg McElvey (783 rebounds from 1972-75) for sixth on ACU's all-time list.

• Junior shooting guard Payten Ricks is 25th in the country in 3-point field goal shooting percentage (.430) and he ranks in the top 13 in ACU history with 101 career 3-point field goals. ... He is third in the league in total 3-point field goals made (65), fifth in total steals (47) and fifth in steals per game (1.74).