ACU opens WAC Tournament with CBU Tuesday

GAME #30 - WAC TOURNAMENT FIRST ROUND

#9 ABILENE CHRISTIAN (13-16, 7-11 WAC) vs. #8 CALIFORNIA BAPTIST (16-15, 8-10 WAC)
Tuesday, March 7 · 2 p.m. CT · Michelob ULTRA Arena · Las Vegas, Nev.
Watch: ESPN+, ESPN.com/watch, ESPN App (Adam Young, Joan Bonvicini, Kendra Sheehan)
Listen: ACU Sports Network, ACUSports.com/Listen, The Varsity Network app (Grant Boone)
Live Stats: Stat Broadcast
Tickets: ACU Athletics Ticket Office
Tournament Central
ACU Game Notes

LAS VEGAS – ACU is set for the postseason yet again. Abilene Christian (13-16, 7-11 WAC) will open up the 2023 Hercules Tires WAC Basketball Tournament on Tuesday afternoon as the nine seed and will line up against the eighth-seeded California Baptist Lancers (16-15, 8-10 WAC). ACU and CBU meet for the second time this season and the first time in the postseason when they hit the floor on Tuesday, March 7 at 2 p.m. CT (12 p.m. PT) at the Michelob ULTRA Arena at Mandalay Bay. It will be a rematch of a game ACU won in Riverside on Feb. 4. The game can be seen on ESPN+ and heard on the ACU Sports Network.

SERIES HISTORY VS. CALIFORNIA BAPTIST

• ALL-TIME | 3rd meeting (ACU leads, 2-0)
• LAST MEETING | ACU 87, California Baptist 71 (Feb. 4, 2023 - Riverside)
• STREAK | ACU, w2
• IN ABILENE | ACU leads, 1-0
• IN RIVERSIDE | ACU leads, 1-0
• NEUTRAL | First meeting
• POSTSEASON | First meeting

ACU STORYLINES

• CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT HISTORY – ACU enters its second WAC Tournament, and will see if they can replicate their success from a season ago. The Wildcats won three games en route to a championship game appearance where they came up just short to NM State. Dating back to the 2018-19 season, ACU holds a 10-4 postseason record with a perfect 4-0 mark in the Southland Tournament, a 3-1 mark in the WAC Tournament, a 2-1 mark in the CBI, and a 1-2 mark in the NCAA Tournament.
• DOMINANT DEFENSE – Damien Daniels was the lone Wildcat to earn postseason WAC honors when he was named to the All-Defensive team. Daniels led the team in steals on the year with 47 which was good enough for second in the WAC. In addition to his steal numbers, Damien added 3.2 rebounds per game and had 77 defensive rebounds on the year. 
• TURNOVER TITANS – Despite their record on the year, the Wildcats have still been one of the most dominant teams in the NCAA when it comes to forcing turnovers. The team ranks fifth in the NCAA for turnovers forced per game and turnover margin. 
• EFFICIENT AT THE LINE – The Wildcats have shot 75 percent or better from the free throw line in their last eight games. In five of the eight games the team has gotten to the line at least 25 times. Tobias Cameron currently leads the team with an 83.7 percent mark from the line on the season.
• BALANCED BALLIN' – ACU has six players averaging eight or more points on the season with Immanuel Allen leading the way at 11 points per game. The team also has five players averaging three or more rebounds and three players averaging two or more assists. 
• 70 IS THE MAGIC NUMBER – In 15 of their 16 losses on the season, the Wildcats have allowed 70 or more points to their opponents. The team has three wins on the year when they have given up more than 70. The team's lone loss when holding an opponent under 70 points was a 66-62 home loss to the WAC regular season champions, Utah Valley. 

SCOUTING CALIFORNIA BAPTIST (16-15, 8-10 WAC)

• CBU enters WAC Vegas off a 1-1 weekend at home with a win over UTRGV and a loss to Southern Utah.
• This is the Lancers' third appearance in the WAC Tournament; they defeated UTRGV 81-80 for their first D-I postseason victory last season.
• Taran Armstrong was named to the All-WAC second team after a superb sophomore season. Armstrong led the Lancers in scoring and assists at 11.4 ppg and five apg. He led the Western Athletic Conference in assists and assists per game for the second-straight season. 

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