Wildcats hit the road to begin WAC play

ABILENE – Non-conference play has come to an end and the Wildcats are prepping for a gruesome WAC schedule. The first weekend of play will see the team make the trip to Nacogdoches to face a tough SFA squad before returning home to host longtime rival Tarleton. This will be the first time in the series history that SFA and ACU have squared off to open conference play and it will feature two teams who are ranked in the top-10 in the nation for forced turnovers. The Texans made a splash early in the season with several impressive wins, including one over Boston College, but have cooled a bit sitting at 6-6 on the year. 

SERIES HISTORY VS. SFA

• ALL-TIME | 44th meeting, SFA leads 24-19
• LAST MEETING | ACU 76 - SFA 62 (March 10, 2022 - Las Vegas - WAC Tournament)
• STREAK | ACU w1
• IN ABILENE | SFA leads 4-3
• IN NACOGDOCHES | SFA leads 6-1
• NEUTRAL | ACU leads 1-0
• POSTSEASON | ACU leads 1-0

SERIES HISTORY VS. TARLETON

• ALL-TIME | 84th meeting, Tarleton leads 46-37
• LAST MEETING | ACU 61 - TAR 56 (March 5, 2022 - Abilene)
• STREAK | ACU, w3
• IN ABILENE | Tarleton leads 8-3
• IN STEPHENVILLE | Tarleton leads 8-1
• NEUTRAL | n/a
• POSTSEASON | n/a

ACU STORYLINES

• WHAT HAVE YOU DONE FOR ME LATELY? | After a 2-4 start to the year and an 0-3 mark in Las Vegas, the Wildcats have turned it around, going 6-1 in their last seven games. The team's only loss came on the road to a one-loss Kansas State program. ACU has settled in on defense and are looking more balanced on the offensive end with each game played. Immanuel Allen and Tobias Cameron are each averaging double figures and nine players are scoring five or more points per game. The 'Cats seem to be hitting their stride and will look to earn two tough wins out of the gate in conference play.
• ALLEN SHOOTING LIGHTS OUT | Immanuel Allen has been a spark off the bench for ACU in the last two seasons but has stepped into a starting role with grace this year. He leads the team in three-point percentage, shooting 50 percent from beyond the arc, but is also the overall leading scorer and a key piece on defense. He scored a career-high 19 points in a win over Texas A&M-Commerce and continues to be bright spot on the court.
• PLEASANT MAKES HIS RETURN TO THE COURT | After his brief season debut in a home game against McMurry, Joe Pleasant saw his role grow during the Las Vegas/Arizona road trip. He saw his minutes increase in Las Vegas and earned his first start of the season at Northern Arizona. He has settled in to his starting role and has shot 50 percent from the field in six-straight games while scoring in double figures in each of his last three. 
• STEELE LIGHTS IT UP ON THE ROAD | Cameron Steele put together a solid week in Las Vegas and Flagstaff as he scored in double figures in all four games. He lit it up from the field shooting 62 percent over the four games while also shooting 57 percent from deep. He hit three or more threes in all but one game of the trip.
• CAMERON CAN DO IT ALL | Tobias Cameron kicked off the season matching a career-high with 18 points in a win over Jackson State and closed non-conference play with another 18-point performance in a win over Howard Payne. Cameron has done a little bit of everything for the Wildcats this season and notched the first double-double of his career in a win over North American. He is shooting 58 percent from the field, leads the team in rebounding, and is second on the team in assists. 
• WILDCATS OPEN MOODY WITH A WIN | The Wildcats opened the 22-23 season with a win over Jackson State in the newly renovated Moody Coliseum. In front of a crowd of nearly 2,500 people ACU jumped out to a 20-point halftime lead behind a hot shooting start and a stifling defense. The team had to fend off a furious comeback attempt by the Tigers as the Wildcats struggled to find their offense in the second half, but came away with a 65-56 victory to start the season 1-0.
• DANIELS, CAMERON EARN 100 CAREER WINS | With the team's 93-46 win over North American on November 30, Wildcats' Tobias Cameron and Damien Daniels earned their 100th-career wins in an ACU uniform. The two have been a key part of the Wildcats success over the past four seasons, tallying 20-plus wins in each one.

SCOUTING SFA (8-5, 0-0 WAC)

• The Lumberjacks are sitting at an impressive 8-5 after dealing with several injuries throughout the non-conference slate. The team earned big wins on the road at South Dakota State and La Tech and came up just short against a good Furman team. 
• Sadaidriene Hall, who hit the last second shot to give ACU a loss on the road last season, is leading the team in both points (13.5 ppg) and rebounding (6.3 rpg). 
• JUCO transfer AJ Cajuste is top three in the WAC for assists per game at 4.7 and dished out a season-high 13 in a win over Paul Quinn. 

SCOUTING TARLETON (6-6, 0-0 WAC)

• The Texans have had some impressive wins, including Belmont and Boston College, but have had some narrow misses as well. The team came up just short on the road at Arizona State and played close through most of the game at Wichita State. 
• This team has been dealing with a few injuries as well. Freddy Hicks played in just seven games on the year and hasn't seen the court since the Baylor game. He was leading the team in scoring through those games at 17.9 ppg. 
• Jakorie Smith and Lue Williams are the other two players scoring in double figures with each of them averaging just over 11 points. 

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