MBB hosts two major matchups at home

ABILENE – The Wildcats picked up a huge win on Saturday night, 84-68 over UT Arlington, breaking a four-game losing streak coming into that contest. ACU came out with defensive energy and confidence on offense that allowed them to open up a 15-0 run early in the game and never look back. Airion Simmons and Cameron Steele put on a show from long range and the Wildcats were able to force 16 turnovers and score 23 points off of those miscues. The team will need to carry that confidence and high-energy play into two important games this week. Perennial WAC contender GCU comes to town on Thursday and a solid Utah Tech team will be in Moody on Saturday, the Wildcats will need to compete at the highest level to protect home court. 

SERIES HISTORY VS. GCU

• ALL-TIME | 3rd meeting, GCU leads 2-0
• LAST MEETING | ACU 68 - GCU 95 (Jan. 13, 2022 - Phoenix)
• STREAK | GCU w2
• IN ABILENE | n/a
• IN PHOENIX | GCU leads 2-0
• NEUTRAL | n/a
• POSTSEASON | n/a

SERIES HISTORY VS. UTAH TECH

• ALL-TIME | 3rd meeting, ACU leads 2-0
• LAST MEETING | ACU 80 - UT 64 (March 3, 2022 - Abilene)
• STREAK | ACU, w2
• IN ABILENE | ACU leads 1-0
• IN ST. GEORGE | ACU leads 1-0
• NEUTRAL | n/a
• POSTSEASON | n/a

ACU STORYLINES

• MOODY MAGIC | The Wildcats are 8-1 at home and have won at least nine games at home over the last several seasons, including a 13-0 record in their temporary facility, the Teague Center, in the 2020-21 season. ACU has always played their best basketball at home and the energy and excitement of the renovated Moody Coliseum has brought back the Moody Magic moniker. The Wildcats added to the lore last Saturday with a dominant performance in a win over UT Arlington that included the team shooting 80 percent from the field, 87.5 percent from three, and 81.8 percent from the free throw line in the second half.
• SHOOTING WOES | The Wildcats had been shooting the ball well for the most part this season but the recent four-game losing skid has featured shooting struggles for the purple and white. They have made just five or fewer threes in each of the last four games and shooting no better than 26 percent from range. The team is shooting over 46 percent from the field on the season but the team's best shooting night over the last four games was 42.9 percent in the win over Tarleton.
• BALANCE IS KEY | Once again, Abilene Christian has found success when they are sharing the ball and getting contributions from each player on the court. Seven players are averaging six or more points per game and the team has had 11 different players go for double figures at some point this season. The balance doesn't just apply to scoring though as there are seven players averaging three or more rebounds per contest as well. When the Wildcats are at their best they are sharing the ball, the team is averaging 16.6 assists per game which ranks as the 20th best mark in the country.
• ALLEN BREAKING OUT | Immanuel Allen has been a star for the Wildcats this season. He had a career-night at UTRGV with 26 points and 13 made free throws, tying an ACU DI record. He has scored in double figures 12 times on the year. He has set career marks for scoring, blocks, and three's made in a game while matching career marks in rebounds and steals. Allen has been a force on both sides of the ball this season and continues to get better with every game.
• IRON MAN | Damien Daniels holds the ACU record for most-career games played with 150 under his belt. Since stepping on campus prior to the 2018-19 season, he has appeared in every basketball game for the Wildcats and has been a huge part of the history made in the previous four years. He is having one of his best statistical seasons in his final campaign shooting 42.5 percent from the field, 46.4 percent from three, and has his best scoring and rebounding numbers of his career. 
• 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 56 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 GCU (13-7, 4-3 WAC)

• The Lopes are coming off a narrow loss to Utah Valley at home to drop them to 4-3 in conference play. The team is without two starters as both Jovan Blacksher Jr. and Yvan Ouedraogo are dealing with injuries.
• Ray Harrison leads the team in scoring, averaging 16.6 points per game, and has scored 16-plus points in 13-straight games. He dropped a career-high 38 points in a win over Utah Tech. 
• Gabe McGlothan is also averaging double figures for GCU and leads the team with 8.4 rebounds per game. 
• The Lopes have only dropped back-to-back games once on the season and have not dropped back-to-back conference games yet. 

SCOUTING UTAH TECH (10-10, 2-5 WAC)

• The Trailblazers are coming off a home win over NM State that pushed them to 2-5 in conference play last Saturday. The team opened WAC play with a win but dropped their next five, all to team in the top half of the conference standings.
• The team has three players averaging double digit scoring on the season led by Cameron Gooden who returned from injury to play in the game against NM State. Gooden is averaging 15.7 ppg while Isaiah Pope averages 13.1 ppg and Tanner Christensen averages 10.1 ppg. 
• Christensen also leads the team in rebounding averaging 7.3 per game. 

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

#TougherTogether | #GoWildcats