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Head coach Brette Tanner on the sidelines as the Wildcats take on Sam Houston at home
Jeremy Enlow

Men's Basketball

Wildcats head on the road to face top-ranked WAC foes

ABILENE, Texas - The Wildcats are coming off of a tough week at home where they dropped back-to-back games against SFA and Sam Houston. After trailing early in both games, ACU found a way to battle back and give themselves a chance to win late but were unsuccessful both nights. The task does not get easier for Abilene Christian as they head on the road to the top two teams in the conference, GCU and New Mexico State. Not only do these teams represent the top of the conference standings, but they are home to two of the toughest environments to play in. The Wildcats will bring a hard-nosed defense looking to hand either team their first conference loss of the season. 

FOLLOW THE GAME

SERIES HISTORY

 

VS GCU

  • ALL-TIME | 3rd meeting (GCU leads series 2-0)
  • LAST MEETING | Dec. 28, 2014 at GCU, GCU W 83-81
  • STREAK | GCU W2
  • IN ABILENE | 0-0
  • IN PHOENIX | 0-1
  • NEUTRAL | 0-1

 

VS NMSU

  • ALL-TIME | 6th meeting (NMSU leads 5-1)
  • LAST MEETING | 1965-66 season, NMSU W 75-73 (OT)
  • STREAK | NMSUU W1
  • IN ABILENE | N/A
  • IN HUNTSVILLE | N/A

ACU Storylines (11-4, 2-2 WAC)

  • The Wildcats dropped two games at home last weekend for their first home losses since moving to the Teague Center. 
  • ACU forced 26 turnovers against SFA and 16 turnovers against Sam Houston, but the Wildcats allowed each team to shoot at a high percentage when they did put up a shot. SFA shot 51 percent from the floor, SHSU shot 50 percent from the floor and each team shot 45 percent or better from three. 
  • Coryon Mason got out of a shooting slump while back at home and posted back-to-back double digit outings for the first time since mid-December. The senior put up 19 points against Sam Houston and went 4-4 from three.
  • Airion Simmons is coming off of his second-career double-double and a career-high 22 points against SHSU.
  • After two monster outings in Utah, the Wildcats will look for Cameron Steele to be productive once again after scoring just five points in the two games last weekend. 

Scouting the Lopes (12-2, 3-0 WAC)

  • After opening WAC play with a home win over Chicago State, Grand Canyon went on the road and earned a win over UTRGV. The team also benefitted from a forfeit by Lamar to move to 3-0 in conference contests.
  • Jovan Blacksher Jr. is leading the Lopes in scoring at 16.8 points per game. 
  • The Lopes are one of the top defensive teams in the country ranking 17th in scoring defense (59.1), 16th in FG percentage defense (37.9), and 4th in three-point FG percentage defense (25.7).
  • Grand Canyon is also one of the top rebounding teams in the country ranking in the top-10 in both rebounds per game and rebounding margin. 

Scouting the Aggies (13-2, 3-0 WAC)

  • New Mexico State is on an eight-game winning streak and could extend that to nine if they win at home over Tarleton on Thursday night. The Aggies are a tough matchup in their home arena where they hold a 24-0 WAC record since Chris Jans took over the program.
  • NMSU has two players averaging double-digit scoring on the season in Teddy Allen (17.3) and Jabari Rice (13.9). 
  • Johnny McCants has been dominant defensively with 21 blocked shots in 13 games played on the year. 
  • The Aggies earned a marquee win on the road at Washington State in December and also won a solid mid-major matchup over Davidson in November. 

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