LUBBOCK CHRISTIAN (15-8, 12-6) vs.
TEXAS A&M INTERNATIONAL (3-21, 1-17)
Thursday, February 20 – 7:30 p.m.
Rip Griffin Center – Lubbock, Texas
 
FINAL HOMESTAND
The Lubbock Christian men's basketball team will play its final two home games of the season this weekend, taking on Texas A&M-International on Thursday before facing Texas A&M-Kingsville Saturday. The Chaps are coming off one-point loss at Oklahoma Christian this past Saturday, which dropped them to 15-8 on the year and 12-6 in Lone Star Conference play. Texas A&M-International enters the contest having lost six straight games. The Dustdevils are dead last in the league, sitting at 1-17 in LSC play and 2-21 overall.
 
NO PLACE LIKE…
Thursday's matchup with Texas A&M-International will be the 13th of 14 scheduled games at home for LCU during the 2019-20 season. They have an 9-3 record on their home court so far this season, with their last home loss coming against Angelo State. LCU is averaging 81.9 points per game and holding opponents to 69.1 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.
 
BEYOND THE ARC
Of their 512 attempted three-pointers this season, the Chaps have made exactly 40 percent (205), which is the best percentage in the Lone Star Conference and ranks No. 19 nationally. LCU has averaged 8.9 three-pointers per game this season, led by Parker Hicks, who makes 2.46 per game. If Hicks was making at least 2.5 per game, he would rank 44^th nationally with a 44.1 percent shooting percentage. His teammate, Ty Caswell, would rank No. 2 nationally with a 50.5 percentage from behind the arc, but he averages just 2.26 made per game.
 
CHARITY STRIPE
Although they have attempted the fifth-fewest free throws in the Lone Star Conference, Lubbock Christian leads the league and ranks 11th nationally in free throw percentage at 79.5 percent. The Chaps set a new Lone Star Conference record earlier this season when they went 27-27 from the free throw line in the win against No. 4 St. Edward's. Daniels leads the team and ranks No. 2 in the league with an 84.2 free throw percentage (80-95), but another five Chaps have attempted at least 15 free throws and are shooting better than 80 percent on the year.
 
AROUND THE LEAGUE
There's just two weeks left before the Lone Star Conference Tournament begins, and the league standings shifted slightly last weekend. Dallas Baptist lost twice last week, dropping them out of the tie for fourth with Lubbock Christian and Angelo State. The Rams still hold the tiebreaker for that spot. Tarleton and Texas A&M-Commerce are both also tied for sixth with DBU, although Texas A&M-Commerce leads its division. St. Edward's and West Texas A&M are the other two division leaders. Eastern New Mexico would be the last team into the LSC Tournament if the season ended today, sitting in a tie for 12^th with UAFS, but holding the head-to-head advantage with them.
 
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, 62.2 percent (46.7 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 15.9 points per game and is shooting .561, which is the third-best mark in the LSC. Hicks is second on the team with 11.7 points per game. Caswell is the team-leading rebounder with 6.2 per game and averages 11.2 points per game. Aamer Muhammad has scored in double-figures five times this year, and Joshua Davey has also contributed off the bench.
 
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. 24 national ranking in turnover margin. LCU forces an average of 15.26 turnovers per game. They also leads the Lone Star Conference in fewest turnovers with just 277 this season (12.3 per game), giving them a turnover margin of 3.2. The Chaps have committed 15 or fewer turnovers in 18 games so far this season, going 13-5 in that time. Conversely, they are 2-3 when they turn the ball over more than 15 times.
 
SCOUTING THE DUSTDEVILS

• TAMIU has the second-lowest points per game of any Lone Star Conference team scoring an average of 68.3 in their 24 contests so far this season
• The Dustdevils do not fare much better defensively, allowing their opponents to score an average of 78.4 points per game, which is tied for the third-worst mark in the LSC
• Caleb Highley and Ryan Birt are the only two TAMIU players averaging double-figures this season with 14 and 12 points per game, respectively. Highley is also second on the team with 6.4 rebounds per game
• The only three wins for Texas A&M-International this season have come against Chadron State, Arlington Baptist and Eastern New Mexico, all of which came at home. None of the teams they have beaten have a winning record
• Head coach Joel Taylor is in his second season leading the Dustdevil program, having posted a record of 6-21 last year. Prior to being named the head coach, he was an assistant on the TAMIU staff for four years

 
THE SERIES WITH TAMIU
Lubbock Christian and Texas A&M-International first met on the hardwood with LCU joined the Heartland Conference for the 2013-14 season, with TAMIU winning the first meeting 83-82. The Chaps won the next three meetings, however, and they lead the all-time series with the Dustdevils. The home team has won in each of the last eight meetings, with the last win by a road team coming by LCU in 2015.