Quarterfinals await as ACU and SFA collide

LAS VEGAS – After a second-round victory Wednesday night over Utah Valley, the Wildcats continue their run at the 2022 WAC Basketball Tournament on Thursday night with a quarterfinal round matchup with a familiar opponent. The No. 6 seed ACU takes on the No. 3 seed SFA for a spot in Friday's semifinal. ACU looks for revenge after dropping both regular-season matchups to the Lumberjacks this season, as the rivals collide in the post-season for the first time ever. The game tips at 10:30 p.m. CT / 8:30 p.m. PT, and airs on both ESPN+ and 102.7 The Bear.

SERIES HISTORY VS. SFA

• ALL-TIME | 43rd meeting (SFA leads, 24-18)
• LAST MEETING | SFA 73 - ACU 71 (Feb. 26, 2022 - Nacogdoches, Texas)
• STREAK | SFA, w2
• IN ABILENE | SFA leads, 4-3
• IN NACOGDOCHES | SFA leads, 6-1
• NEUTRAL | n/a
• POSTSEASON | First meeting

ACU STORYLINES

• SECOND ROUND VICTORY OVER UVU
  • ACU earned a hard-fought, come-from-behind victory Wednesday night in the second round, topping the No. 7 seed Utah Valley, 82-74, to advance. The Wildcats trailed by as many as 10 points midway through the first half, but eventually got their first lead with 12 minutes to play. ACU dominated the second half, outscoring Utah Valley 45-33 to win by eight. The defense turned UVU over 21 times, and scored 24 points off turnovers, and combined all that with 11 made three-pointers in the impressive win.
• SIMMONS, CAMERON DOMINATE AT UVU
  • Airion Simmons led ACU with 19 points against UVU  on 7-of-12 shooting, including four three-pointers, tying his career-high. Tobias Cameron matched his career-best with 17 points in 32 minutes played, and hit three from downtown, finishing 6-of-10 shooting.
• 20 WINS AGAIN
  • After totaling just three 20-win seasons in their first 97 years of the program, the Wildcats have strung together four consecutive 20-win regular seasons. The Wildcats totaled 27 wins in 2018-19, 20 wins in 2019-20, 24 wins in 2020-21, and have 21 wins so far this year.
• SIMMONS EARNS ALL-WAC ACCOLADES
  • Airion Simmons led the Wildcats in scoring (13.3 ppg) and rebounding (6.4 rpg) in 16 conference games played on his way to an All-WAC Second team selection. The junior had two double-doubles in conference play including a monster night at home against UTRGV where he went for 31 points and 14 rebounds, both career highs.
• NCAA LEADERS
  • The Wildcats lead the country in three defensive categories heading into the postseason. ACU forced 21.79 turnovers a game with the second-best team forcing 19.68. The Wildcats turnover margin is also leading the country at plus-9.0 with the next best team checking in at plus-5.8. The Wildcats are also the nation-leader in steals per game at 11.3.
• PUT IT IN NEUTRAL
  • The Wildcats will be hitting a neutral court for the first time this season after they were unable to make the trip to the Bahamas for an MTE earlier this season. The team is 10-2 in neutral site games since the 2018-19 season, including going 6-1 last season.

SCOUTING #3 SFA (22-8, 14-4 WAC)

• The Lumberjacks earned a share of the WAC regular-season title, earning a three-way split with NM State and Seattle U. SFA is the hottest team is the league entering the tournament, as they have won 10 in a row coming into Thursday night.
• Jaylin Jackson-Posey was named the WAC Sixth Man of the Year, while Gavin Kensmil earned first-team all-league honors and David Kachelries was named to the second team.
• SFA averaged 74.6 points per game, and hangs their hat on good defense, forcing 18 turnovers per game.

Follow ACU Men's Basketball on Social Media
Twitter: @ACU_MBB | @ACUsports
Instagram: @acu_mbb | @acusports
Facebook: /ACUWildcatMensBasketball | /ACUSports

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