LUBBOCK CHRISTIAN (9-6, 6-4, 3-3) vs.
ST. MARY'S (9-8, 5-6, 1-2)
Thursday, January 23 – 7:30 p.m.
Rip Griffin Center – Lubbock, Texas
Fox 34 News Now
100.7 The Score
 
HOME AGAIN, HOME AGAIN
The Lubbock Christian men's basketball team returns back to their own court this Thursday after splitting a two-game road trip last week. The Chaps started the road trip well enough, coming back in Portales to take down the Greyhounds of Eastern New Mexico last Thursday, but struggled against No. 4 West Texas A&M on Saturday, losing to the Buffs 92-68. LCU will look to get back on track this week at the friendly confines of the Rip Griffin Center, hosting St. Mary's before engaging in another battle with a top 10 opponent when St. Edward's comes to Lubbock.
 
NO PLACE LIKE…
Thursday's matchup with St. Mary's will be the ninth of 14 scheduled games at home for LCU during the 2019-20 season. They have a 6-2 record on their home court so far this season, losing to Angelo State 73-70 in their last home contest. LCU is averaging 82.0 points per game and holding opponents to 66.1 points per game at home this year. The Rip Griffin Center, where LCU plays its home games, was named after B.R. "Rip" Griffin, a former secretary of the LCU Board of Trustees, whose generous donation of $500,000, made possible the $4,200,000, 51,500 square foot facility. Officially dedicated on October 9, 2000, the arena seats 1,950 people for sporting events. The Chaps went 13-1 on their home court last season, and they have not posted a losing record at home since the 2006-07 season.
 
MAGIC NUMBER
Just over halfway through the regular season and 10 games into Lone Star Conference play, the magic number for the Chaparral basketball team seems to be 70. In 10 games in which LCU has scored at least 70 points, the Chaps are 8-2, with only a triple overtime loss to DBU and a loss to Angelo State, when they scored exactly 70. On the flip side, when LCU allows fewer than 70 points, they are 7-1, losing only the season-opener to Regis (64-60). The Chaps are 2-5 when they allow 70-plus points.
 
FRESH OUT OF THE OVEN
The Chaps have been one of the best teams in the conference and in the country at both forcing turnovers and limiting turnovers of their own, leading them to a No. 16 national ranking in turnover margin. LCU forces an average of 17.40, which is the fourth-best mark in their own conference but is still No. 15 nationally. LCU also leads the Lone Star Conference in fewest turnovers with just 201 this season (13.4 per game), giving them a turnover margin of about four. The Chaps have committed 15 or fewer turnovers in 10 games so far this season, going 7-3 in that time. Conversely, they are 2-3 when they turn the ball over more than 15 times, like they did last Saturday against West Texas A&M.
 
NEW-LOOK CHAPS
After losing their two leading scorers from a season ago, Lubbock Christian brought in a number of new faces to help the offense reload. So far this season, 56.5 percent (41.9 points per game) of the Chaps' scoring is coming from players who were not on the team a season ago. Lloyd Daniels leads the group of newcomers with a team-high 13.1 points per game and is shooting .534, which is the sixth-best mark in the LSC. Freshman Ty Caswell is also averaging double figures at 10.7 points per game, while Texas Tech transfer Parker Hicks is scoring 10.4 per game and leading the team with 6.2 rebounds per game. Aamer Muhammad and Joshua Davey have also contributed off the bench, with both reaching new career-highs against West Texas A&M.
 
CHARITY WORK
LCU is 171-221 (77.4 percent) from the free throw line this season, which is the best mark in the Lone Star Conference and ranks No. 27 among the 303 Division II men's basketball teams. On the road, they have shot slightly better with a .783 mark (36-46) on foul shots. No Chap player has taken enough attempts to factor into the national rankings for free throw percentage (minimum 2.5 per game), but Zach Stepp (2-2, 1.000), Silas Crisler (16-17, .941), Caswell (18-22 .818) and Muhammad (10-12, .833) are all shooting better than 80 percent from the charity stripe this year.
 
BEYOND THE ARC
Freshman Ty Caswell would lead the Lone Star Conference and rank seventh among all Division II players with a three-point field-goal percentage of exactly 49.3 percent, but he is just under the requirement of 2.5 made per game (at 2.27). The Wichita Falls native has attempted 69 three-pointers so far this season, making 34 of them, including two in the last game at WT. As a team, LCU leads the Lone Star Conference and ranks 27th nationally, making 38.4 percent of their attempts. They have attempted the seventh-fewest three-pointers in the LSC (328), but still average 9.0 made three-pointers per game.
 
SCOUTING THE RATTLERS

• Jim Zelzenak is in his 15^th season coaching the Rattlers, holding a career 230-191 record as the St. Mary's head coach. He was also the head softball coach of the Rattlers for 15 seasons, going 401-184 and winning the NAIA National Title in 1986
• StMU is dominant on the offensive glass, averaging 12.65 offensive rebounds per game. That number is good for second in the Lone Star Conference and ranks 39^th nationally
• Rattler guard Caleb Jordan leads the team in scoring with 15.6 points per game, which is the ninth-best mark in the LSC. He shoots 41.6 percent (89-214) from the field and 36.4 percent (36-99) from behind the arc
• St. Mary's started the season at the same RMAC/LSC Challenge tournament as LCU, going 1-1 on the opening weekend. They beat host Colorado School of Mines 85-84 in an overtime thriller before losing to Regis 81-74
• Rattler guard Kobe Magee is second in the Lone Star Conference and 31^st nationally with an average of 5.6 assists per game. He has also played 607 minutes this season, which is the second-most of any LSC player, behind only UTPB's Pat Dembley

 
THE SERIES WITH ST. MARY'S
Lubbock Christian and St. Mary's have met only 14 times in the history of the two programs, including only two matchups before LCU joined the Heartland Conference for the 2103-2014 series. The Rattlers won those two pre-Heartland matchups, both of which happened in 1992, but the Chaps lead the all-time series 9-5. LCU has won each of the last five meetings, with StMU's last win coming on December 31, 2016 in San Antonio by a score of 70-55.