ABILENE – Abilene Christian finishes off a four-game homestand on Thursday, hosting Tarleton State at 7 p.m.
The Wildcats are 8-12 overall and 3-6 against the Western Athletic Conference after a loss to Southern Utah on Saturday.
Tarleton State is 13-7 overall and 6-3 in the WAC after beating Utah Tech on Saturday.
ACU Storylines
SPACE CITY: Abilene Christian's basketball game on Thursday against Tarleton State in Moody Coliseum will be broadcast by Space City Home Network, the broadcast home of the Houston Rockets and Houston Astros. The game can be found on SCHN on DirecTV 674, AT&T Uverse on 758 and 1758 HD, Xfinity 39 and 639 HD, Consolidated Communications 113, btel 31 HD, Astound 73 and 473 HD, Phonoscope 624 and I-Net 98. The game also will be carried by ESPN+ but may be blacked out in Texas.
LINEMEN: Abilene Christian continues to be among the nation's leaders in getting to the free throw line. The Wildcats average 17.5 made free throws per game (18th in the NCAA) and 24.1 attempts (20th). The WAC is pretty good about attacking the basket and drawing fouls and those ACU numbers are only fourth in the league. The Cats are shooting 72.4 percent from the free-throw line this season.
THAT D: ACU's defense-first approach is showing statistically. The Cats are 15th nationally, forcing 15.8 turnovers per game, 52nd in the NCAA, and first in the WAC with a 2.6 turnover margin. ACU also is 68th in the NCAA, forcing eight steals per game.
Ali Abdou Dibba leads the Wildcats with 1.5 steals per game and four of today's projected starters average one or more steals per game.
SCORING THREATS: ACU is led in scoring this season by
Ali Abdou Dibba at 15.4 points per game, followed by
Airion Simmons at 13.6 and
Hunter Jack Madden at 12.3.
WAC NUMBERS: Ali Dibba averages 16.3 points, 5.1 rebounds and 2.2 steals per game in WAC games.
Airion Simmons averages 15.2 points and 7.4 rebounds against the league. ACU has forced an average of 14.3 turnovers per game in WAC contests. The Wildcats make an average of 23.7 trips to the free throw line against the WAC and are shooting 72.8 percent there.
HOME CATS: ACU is 5-4 at home this season (including a home game at McMurry). The Wildcats are averaging 83.3 points at home and shooting 47.2 percent from the field. ACU is 5-1 in its last six home games. Four Wildcats are averaging double-figure in scoring at home, led by Ali Dibba at 16.4.
Airion Simmons stands at 14.1,
Hunter Jack Madden at 11.8 and
Leonardo Bettiol at 10.9. Simmons averages 7.9 rebounds with Bettiol at 6.0. Ali Dibba shoots 53.5 percent from the field and 46.7 percent from three-point range on the home floor.
TRENDS: Airion Simmons has averaged 18 points and nine rebounds on the current home stand (three games). Ali Dibba has come up with 3.3 steals per game to go with his 16.3 points per game on this homestand. ACU is a plus-5 in rebound margin this homestand with
Airion Simmons (9.0) and Leo Bettiol (8.3) leading the team in rebounds per game. Sixteen of Bettiol's 25 rebounds in those three games have come on the offensive end.
TEXANS AND ACU: ACU lost in Stephenville, 79-71, on Jan. 18, despite five Wildcats reaching double-figures in scoring and shooting 50 percent (9-18) from three-point land. Ali Dibba led ACU with 14 points and eight rebounds while
Airion Simmons scored 14 points. Jakorie Smith scored 25 points to lead the Texans. Tarleton State leads the all-time rivalry 42-39.
SCOUTING TSU: Tarleton State is 13-7 overall and 6-3 in league play after an 86-68 win over Utah Tech on Saturday. Jakorie Smith leads the Texans at 15 points per game, followed by Lue Williams at 12.5. KiAndre Gaddy averages 12.3 points seven rebounds and 1.5 blocked shots per game. TSU is 4-5 in road games this season, including a 2-2 mark against the league.
LAST GAME: After leading for almost the entire first 30 minutes, Abilene Christian dropped a tough one to Southern Utah on Saturday, 82-67.
Leonardo Bettiol had a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds while
Airion Simmons added another 14 points to go with eight boards.
Ali Abdou Dibba and
Hunter Jack Madden added a dozen points each with Dibba leading the team on defense with three steals.
DAY OFF: ACU has a bye on Saturday before starting a four-game road swing at Seattle on Feb. 8.
