ABILENE – After six games in five states, the ACU men's basketball team returns to Moody Coliseum on Saturday for its first home game since a Nov. 16 win over Texas State.
The Wildcats will host Hardin-Simmons in a game that will tip off at 6 p.m. The game will be streamed online on ESPN+, broadcast on 101.7 FM The Patriot, and fans can follow on live stats. ACU will also welcome its men's basketball summer camp participants for Slam Dunk Day. Any camper who wants to participate in the Wildcat Slam Jam Halftime Show gets into the game free.
The Cowboys and Wildcats have met 19 times in a series that dates back to the 1916-17 season, and the Cowboys lead 13-6. The teams met every season from 1962-63 through 1971-72 but didn't play until Dec. 16, 2020, at Moody Coliseum when ACU beat Hardin-Simmons, 95-73.
SCOUTING ACU
LAST GAME: The Wildcats finished their six-game road swing Monday night with an 88-57 loss at Baylor. Leonardo Bettiol – the team's leading scorer – scored a team-high 16 points, his sixth straight game with at least 16 points. Quion Williams had 10 points, three rebounds, two assists, and one block against the Bears.
ROAD WARRIORS: ACU is a solid 3-3 away from Moody this season, having beaten Southern Miss in Bozeman, Montana, and winning at Nebraska-Omaha and New Mexico State earlier this month. After Saturday's game against HSU, ACU has two road games left in December: vs. East Texas A&M in Commerce and vs. Texas A&M in College Station on Dec. 28.
GETTING DEFENSIVE: The Wildcats have one of the top defensive units in the Western Athletic Conference, leading the league in rebounding defense (fewest opponent rebounds per game), allowing opponents just 29.3 rebounds per game, and turnovers forced (147). ACU is second in the league in steals. (95), and fourth in scoring defense, allowing 72.40 points per game. The Wildcats have limited three opponents to 60 points or less this season. Rich Smith is tied for fourth in the league with 14 steals through 10 games.
SCOUTING HARDIN-SIMMONS
ABOUT THE COWBOYS: Hardin-Simmons is 4-5 on the season and has lost its previous two games going into Saturday's game, dropping a 77-73 decision to Whitworth on Dec. 7 in Spokane, Wash., and 78-71 to Trinity on Dec. 10 at Mabee Complex. Head coach Matt Brackett is in his eighth season leading the HSU program and has an overall record of 112-69.
Team Notes
• Austin Brewer – a 6-10 senior center from Stamford – leads the Wildcats in scoring at 17.4 points per game and rebounding at 9.3 rebounds per game. He's second on the team with 13 blocks.
• Sophomore forward Chris Bryant from Canyon is second in scoring (17.2 ppg) and rebounding (7.2 rpg) and leads the team with 29 of the team's 48 blocked shots.
• Senior forward Will Bartoszak has only played in the last four HSU games, averaging 13.8 points and 5.5 rebounds per game.
• HSU has been out-rebounded by an average margin of 38.4-37.1 per game.
• The Cowboys have turned the ball over 132 times in nine games (14.7 per game).
