ABILENE – Abilene Christian hits the road for tough opponents, facing Grand Canyon in Phoenix on Thursday and California Baptist on Saturday in Riverside, Calif.
Both games are available on ESPN+ and in Abilene on 101.7 FM The Patriot with Grant Boone behind the mic. Game times are 8 p.m. Central on Thursday and 7 p.m. Central on Saturday.
ACU is 6-8 overall and 1-2 in the Western Athletic Conference after a 91-89 overtime win over Texas-Rio Grande Valley on Saturday.
Grand Canyon is 14-1 overall and 4-0 in the Western Athletic Conference after a 75-65 win at Utah Tech on Saturday.
California Baptist comes into the week at 8-7 overall and 1-3 in the Western Athletic Conference after a 48-46 loss at Seattle on Saturday. CBU plays Tarleton State on Thursday.
ACU Storylines
On the Line: Abilene Christian has been good at getting to the free throw line with its attacking style of offense. The Wildcats are 10th in the nation in free throw attempts per game at 25.9 and 13th in free throws made per game at 18.6.
Kavion McClain, who hit two big free throws late to stop a tough shooting night by the team, leads the Wildcats with an 85 percent free throw shooting accuracy.
Forcing Errors: The Wildcats are 18th in the nation in forcing turnovers, averaging 16.3 forced turnovers per game. Six Wildcats average at least one steal per game, led by
Kavion McClain at 1.4. McClain had six steals on Saturday in the win over UT-Rio Grande Valley. ACU is 73rd in the NCAA, averaging 8.1 steals per game.
Scoring it: Ali Abdul Dibba leads a trio of three Wildcats averaging in double figures in scoring at 15.6 points per game.
Airion Simmons checks in at 12.5 and
Hunter Jack Madden averages 12.4.
Big Airion: Airion Simmons has been a big part of ACU's success. He leads the team with 5.8 rebounds per game to go with his 12.5 points and 2.3 assists.
Last Game: JV Seat grabbed an offensive rebound and scored the go-ahead basket with 1.5 seconds left in overtime to give Abilene Christian its first WAC win of the season – a 91-81 victory over Texas-Rio Grande Valley on Saturday. Seat, who has averaged just over nine minutes in all 14 games this season, is third on the team in offensive rebounds. Five Cats scored in double figures, led by Ali Abdul Dibba with 23.
Hunter Jack Madden had 17,
Leonardo Bettiol scored 14 and
Kavion McClain and
Airion Simmons added 12 each.
Trending: Over the last three games, Ali Abdul Dibba is averaging 22 points per game. The Cats have been averaging 82.7 points per game with
Hunter Jack Madden adding 15.3,
Leonardo Bettiol 12.7 and
Kavion McClain 12.
Kavion McClain has settled into a leadership role as the point guard, averaging five assists and 2.3 steals in the last three games.
Airion Simmons (6.5 rebounds per game) and Leo Bettiol (6.0) have led the ACU rebounding effort in the three-game span.
Missing Manny: Immanuel Allen had possible season-ending surgery last week. There is a remote chance that Allen could return for the postseason.
Scouting Grand Canyon
- Gabe McGlothan is the reigning WAC Player of the Week. It is his third such award this season. Tyon Grant Foster is the WAC Newcomer of the Week. He has taken home that award four times this season.
- GCU is 15th in the NCAA with 18.3 free throws made per game and 17th with 24.7 free throw attempts per game.
- The Lopes are third in the College Insider Mid-Major Poll behind Gonzaga and James Madison.
- Grand Canyon is 15th in the NCAA with 5.5 blocked shots per game.
- Tyon Grant Foster leads the Lopes and the WAC at 20.7 points per game. Ray Harrison is eighth in the league at 14.6 ppg. Gabe McGlothan checks in at 13.9. GCU averages 83 points per game.
Scouting California Baptist
- California Baptist comes into the week at 8-7 overall and 1-3 in the Western Athletic Conference after a 48-46 loss at Seattle on Saturday. CBU plays Tarleton State on Thursday.
- The Lancers are 37th in the NCAA with 23.1 free throws attempted per game.
- CBU allows just 64.3 points per game and is 34th in the NCAA in scoring defense.
- Hunter Goodrick leads the WAC and is 40th in the NCAA at 9.2 rebounds per game. Yvan Ouersdrago averages 8.6 rebounds per game.
- Dominique Daniels leads CBU with 17.7 points per game and leads the WAC with 222 field goals attempted and is second with 2.3 three-pointers made per game.
