LUBBOCK CHRISTIAN (13-6, 10-4, 3-3) vs.
WEST TEXAS A&M (21-1, 13-1, 8-0)
Thursday, February 6 – 7:30 p.m.
Rip Griffin Center – Lubbock, Texas
 
COMEBACK KIDS
The Lubbock Christian men's basketball team is currently riding a four-game win streaks, thanks in large part to a pair of second half comebacks on the road last weekend. The Chaps beat Texas A&M-Commerce after trailing at halftime, out-scoring the Lions 28-9 over the last nine minutes and change. Saturday's comeback against UT Tyler featured an even more impressive run, as LCU outscored the Patriots 13-1 in the final 2:04 to erase a nine-point deficit and take down UTT. LCU is now 13-6 on the season and has reached the double-digit win mark in Lone Star Conference play at 10-4.
 
AWARD CENTRAL
Junior Chap Guard Lloyd Daniels was named the Lone Star Conference Offensive Player of the Week for games played January 27 to February 1. He poured in a career-high 34 points against Texas A&M-Commerce, including 13 points in the last nine minutes as LCU came back to beat the Lions. He led another furious comeback by the Chaps against UT Tyler, scoring nine of LCU's 13 points in the last two minutes, including a go-ahead and-one layup to take the lead with 12 seconds left. Daniels shot 58.1 percent from the floor during the week and hit 20-of-21 free throws (95.2 percent). Daniels has now captured the award in back-to-back weeks, becoming the first player to do so this season.
 
RIVALRY ON THE RANGE
On August 6, 2019, Lubbock Christian and West Texas A&M announced the establishment of the Rivalry on the Range series, which is a year-long competition including 15 sports in which the two schools will compete against one another. The Rivalry on the Range series scoring components will include head-to-head battles in men's soccer, women's soccer, volleyball, men's basketball, women's basketball, baseball and softball, with additional points available in postseason play. So far, LCU has earned four points in the series, one for each win in men's and women's soccer, and two for placing above WT in the LSC Women's Cross Country Championship, while West Texas A&M Fans can review the scoring system and follow the standings on rivalryontherange.com.
 
TOP-RANKED
With a 21-1 overall record, West Texas A&M enters Thursday's matchup with a No. 3 national ranking from the National Association of Basketball Coaches and a No. 7 ranking in the Division II Sports Information Directors poll. This will mark the fifth time this season LCU has faced a ranked opponent and the third time they have battled an opponent ranked inside the top five. The Chaps are 1-3 against ranked opponents this season, including 1-1 against opponents ranked in the top five. Their one win came against No. 4 St. Edward's 88-81 on January 25 inside the Rip Griffin Center. 
 
NO PLACE LIKE…
Thursday's matchup with West Texas A&M will be the 11th of 14 scheduled games at home for LCU during the 2019-20 season. They have an 8-2 record on their home court so far this season, with their last home loss coming against Angelo State. LCU is averaging 83.0 points per game and holding opponents to 69.2 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.
 
CHARITY STRIPE
Although they have attempted the fifth-fewest free throws in the Lone Star Conference, Lubbock Christian leads the league and ranks 15^th nationally in free throw percentage at 78.7 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. 3 in the league with an 82.7 free throw percentage (62-75), but another four Chaps have attempted at least 15 free throws and are shooting better than 80 percent on the year.
 
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, 60.4 percent (45.7 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 15.7 points per game and is shooting .557, which is the third-best mark in the LSC. Hicks is second on the team with 11.3 points per game and a team-high 6.4 rebounds per game, while Caswell is also averaging double-figures with 10.9 points per game and leads the team in three-point shooting at 53.7 percent. Muhammad set a new career-high in the win over St. Edward's, scoring 16 points off the bench, and Joshua Davey has contributed as a reserve as well.
 
SCOUTING THE BUFFS

• West Texas A&M leads the nation in total steals, turnovers forced and turnover margin this season. They force an average of 22.1 turnovers per game
• The Buff offense is also one of the best in all of Division II, averaging 94.3 points per game (sixth-most) and outscoring opponents by an average of 21.7 points per game (fourth-best)
• Qua Grant is the leader of the WT offense, averaging 22.3 points per game, which ranks No. 23 nationally. Grant also ranks No. 6 nationally in steals per game with 2.68
• The Buffs have been South Central Regional Champions each of the last two seasons and made it all the way to the Final Four in 2018
• The only area where WT struggles even a little is rebounding. They average 37.6 per game, which is the third most in the league, but their rebounding margin is just 1.0

 
THE SERIES WITH THE BUFFS
West Texas A&M leads the all-time series, which began in 1978, 19-6. The Buffs were winners in the first 10 meetings between the teams until LCU finally got its first win in 2002. The Chaps longest win streak was in 2015 and 2016, when they took three straight games against WT. In the last six matchups between the schools, the home team has won every time.