ABILENE — The ACU Wildcats return to Moody Coliseum for Thursday night's key Western Athletic Conference contest against Seattle as the Wildcats and Redhawks battle for position in the standings heading into next month's WAC Postseason Tournament.
The Redhawks are 10-13 overall and 5-4 in fourth place in the WAC, while ACU is 11-13 and 3-6 in seventh in the league. The Wildcats won back-to-back games last week at Utah Tech (86-72) and Southern Utah (84-70) behind the hot shooting of guard Hunter Jack Madden, who averaged 20.0 ppg in the two wins.
Madden struggled from behind the 3-point line for most of the season but suddenly found his shooting stroke in Utah, going 13 of 21 from the field (61.9 percent) and 8 of 14 from beyond the arc (57.1 percent). After going 10 straight games without scoring in double figures, Madden scored 18 and 22 points, respectively, in ACU's two wins last week.
Junior forward Leo Bettiol continues to lead the Wildcats in scoring at 13.6 points per game, trailed closely by junior guard Quion Williams (13.5 ppg). Bradyn Hubbard leads the Wildcats in rebounds per game (5.2), followed by Williams (5.1). Hubbard is averaging 9.6 ppg, and Madden is averaging 8.9 ppg.
Thursday night's game starts a stretch of five home games in the Wildcats' last seven regular-season contests. ACU, UT-Arlington, and Tarleton State have all played six WAC road games, more than any of the other six teams in the league. However, ACU is the only team in the league sent on two three-game road trips during the conference season. The Wildcats are 2-4 on those two trips. Tarleton and UTA are each 1-5 on the road in the league.
On Saturday, the Redhawks completed a two-game sweep of WAC rivals with a thrilling 67-65 victory over UT Arlington. John Christofilis buried a buzzer-beating, game-winning three, his lone 3-pointer of the night. Brayden Maldonado capped a monster week of play with a season-high 26 points, including a career-high seven 3-pointers.
Maldonado was named WAC Player and Newcomer of the Week after averaging 22 points, 3.5 assists, and 2.0 steals per game while shooting 70% FGs and 72.2% from three (13-18).
