6-Seed LUBBOCK CHRISTIAN (21-9)
vs. 2-Seed ST. EDWARD'S (29-3) 
Saturday, March 16 – 7:00 p.m.
Recreation and Convocation Center (Austin, Texas)
All-Time Series: LCU leads 16-9
 
MARCH MADNESS
For the second time since becoming postseason eligible in the 2015-16 season, Lubbock Christian University was selected as one of the teams to continue playing in the South Central Regional. LCU entered the NCAA Postseason Tournament as the No. 6 seed and advanced to the second round with an upset of the No. 3-seed Colorado School of Mines (82-73). The Chaps will now face a familiar foe in fellow Heartland Conference member St. Edward's, who advanced to the second round with an 82-81 win over the No. 7-seed Angelo State on Friday.
 
WIN TOTAL
With Friday night's win against Colorado School of Mines, LCU matched their best regular season win total since they moved to the NCAA Division II level. The Chaps first season as a Division II team was 2013-14, when they went 17-8, but their best season to this point was 2015-16, when they went 21-10. The 21 wins in a season also match the most in a season under head coach Todd Duncan, who has been at the helm of the program since the 2011-12 season.
 
CHAPS IN THE REGIONAL
After Friday night's win, LCU is now 2-1 all-time in NCAA South Central Regional games and undefeated in the first round. The Chaps have only appeared in the regional once before, during the 2015-16 season, when they upset the host and No. 1 seed Midwestern State in the first round before falling to eventual South Central Regional Champion Tarleton State. Forward Brennen Fowler is the only Chap who was on that previous regional team and has averaged 13 points and 10.3 rebounds in his three tournament appearances.
 
A+ ASRAT
Senior Lubbock Christian Guard Isaac Asrat was named the Google Cloud Academic All-America Team Member of the Year award winner for men's basketball, which was announced on Tuesday. The Plano native is a mathematics major at Lubbock Christian, where he has posted a perfect 4.0 GPA while earning a spot on the All-Heartland Conference First Team, averaging 16 points and 4.1 rebounds game. He is the first LCU men's basketball player ever to be named to the Academic All-American First Team and only the third to be honored on any team.
 
AWARD CENTRAL
LCU players have been recognize with a number of other postseason awards just for their performance on the court. On Friday, Brennen Fowler was named to the D2CCA All-South Central Region First Team for his performance this year. He is the first Chap ever to be honored on that team. Both Fowler and guard Isaac Asrat were also honored on the All-Heartland Conference First Team. Both ranked in the top five in the conference in scoring at 19 and 16 points per game, while Folwer also led the conference in field goal percentage.
 
SEASON IN REVIEW
Lubbock Christian had one of its most successful regular seasons since moving up to the NCAA Division II level, winning 20 games to just nine losses. The Chaps set the tone in the first weekend of the season, beating a Colorado School of Mines team that was receiving votes in the national poll and a Regis team that was ranked No. 20. The season included two four-game win streaks and a pair of wins over top-10 opponents, including a victory against then-No. 4 St. Edward's on the final day of the regular season. They finished third in the Heartland Conference.
 
DAUNTING DEFENSE
Out of the 304 Division II men's basketball teams in the country, LCU ranks No. 22 in field goal percentage defense this season. They have limited opponents to a .406 shooting percentage, holding opponents to lower than 40 percent in 13 games this season (12-2 in that time). This includes Friday night's South Central Regional Quarterfinal, when they held the Orediggers of Colorado School of Mines to just 35.5 percent from the field, which was their second-lowest single game total of the season.  
 
DOUBLE-TROUBLE
Lubbock Christian forward Brennen Fowler is averaging a double-double for the season with 19.0 points per game and 10.5 rebounds per contest. Both of those figures were second best in the Heartland Conference. He has posted actual double-doubles in six of the last seven games and 16 total times this season, giving him 40 for his career. Among active Division II players, Fowler's 41 double-doubles rank as the fourth most, and he is tied for the 19th most across all Divisions.
 
SOME ASSISTANCE, PLEASE
Guard Cameron Copley has quickly been increasing his assist numbers in recent weeks, leading LCU in that category in the last eight contests. In Heartland Conference play, the Canadian native racked up the second most assists per game at 4.6, only behind Hilltopper August Haas, who ranks No. 6 nationally with 6.7 per game. Copley set a new career high as the Chaps upset St. Edward's in the final game of the regular season, assisting 10 Lubbock Christian baskets. It marked the first time a Chap had reached the double-digit assist mark in a single game since Marcus Arrington had 10 against Our Lady of the Lake on 11/21/18.
 
SATURDAY NIGHT SPECIAL
Lubbock Christian has been almost un-waveringly good in Saturday games this season, whether at home or on the road. The Chaps are 12-2 in Saturday games this season and they have not lost a Saturday game since Jan. 26 against Oklahoma Christian. They did not lose a Saturday matchup in the friendly confines of the Rip Griffin Center this season.
 
FIVE FACTS ABOUT SEU

• Hilltopper guard Ashton Spears was named the Heartland Conference Player of the Year and a D2CCA All-Region First Team Member
• SEU won the Heartland Conference Regular Season Title for the first time since 2008 and the Tournament Championship for the first time since 2007
• St. Edward's ranks No. 4 nationally in scoring margin, beating opponents by and average of 16.1 points per game
• The Hilltoppers are in the South Central Regional for the first time since 2008 and hosting regional games for the first time in school history
• SEU is 991-996 all-time for a winning percentage of .498

 
THE SERIES WITH THE HILLTOPPERS
LCU and SEU first met in the 1985 season with the Chaps walking away with a 75-64 win. They have met 26 times since then, with LCU leading the all-time series 16 games to 9. St. Edward's got its first win in the series in 1990, sparking a six-game SEU winning streak, but the Chaps returned the favor by winning seven straight after that and 13 of 14 from 1995 to 2018. The Chaps and Hilltoppers met twice during the regular season, splitting the matchups as each team won on its home court.