LUBBOCK CHRISTIAN (18-9, 15-7) vs.
ANGELO STATE (19-7, 15-7)
Friday, March 6 – 8:30 p.m.
Comerica Center – Frisco, Texas
 
TOURNEY TIME
The calendar has officially turned to March, and when it comes to college basketball that can mean only one thing – madness. Lubbock Christian's men's basketball team has already had a taste of that madness, hosting a first round LSC Championship game on Tuesday against Midwestern State, which they won 79-61 to advance to Friday night's quarterfinal game. The Chaps finished fifth in the Lone Star Conference during the regular season, posting a 15-7 league record. The winner of Friday's quarterfinal game will advance to the semifinals of the 2020 LSC Championship where they will face the winner of the matchup between West Texas A&M and Texas A&M-Commerce.
 
AWARD CENTRAL
Postseason awards for the Lone Star Conference were announced on Wednesday night, and five different LCU players were recognized. Lloyd Daniels was the only Chap on the All-Conference first team, while Parker Hicks was named to the All-Conference Second Team and Cameron Copley earned a spot on the All-Conference Third Team. Ty Caswell was named the league's Freshman of the Year for his performance this season as well as the All-Freshman Team. Aamer Muhammad joined him on the All-Freshman Team.
 
AWAY FROM HOME
Friday's matchup with Angelo State will be LCU's 13^th game away from the Rip Griffin Center this season and their second neutral site contest LCU is 7-6 in true road games so far this year and 7-7 when you include their one other neutral game. The Chaps have scored just 72.9 points per game across those seven contests while allowing 75.1 points from their opponents. Lubbock Christian does have several impressive second-half comebacks on the road this season, including at Texas A&M-Commerce, at UT Tyler and at Western New Mexico. Lloyd Daniels (16.6), Ty Caswell (11.3) and Parker Hicks (12.8) are all averaging double-figures away from home.
 
REGIONALLY RECOGNIZED
Lubbock Christian's men's basketball team dropped back one spot, thanks to the loss at UT Permian Bain, and sits in the No. 9 spot in the final South Central Regional Rankings that will be released before the Selection Show on Sunday. The top eight teams when the selections are announced will advance to the NCAA Tournament. In the eight spot of this week's rankings is LCU's Friday opponent, making the matchup all the more important. Conference foes West Texas A&M (No. 1), St. Edward's (No. 2), Dallas Baptist (No. 6) and Texas A&M-Kingsville (No. 7) were all also featured in the rankings.
 
BEYOND THE ARC
Of their 617 attempted three-pointers this season, the Chaps have made exactly 41.2 percent (254), which is the best percentage in the Lone Star Conference and ranks No. 9 nationally. LCU has averaged 9.1 three-pointers per game this season, led by Parker Hicks, who averages 2.61 per game. Hicks also leads the conference and ranks No. 26 nationally with a three-point field goal percentage of 44.5 His percentage actually is the third best on the team, but the two above him (Lloyd Daniels, 51.2 and Ty Caswell, 49.6) do not average enough made three-pointers per game to factor into the national statistical rankings. In Tuesday's game against Midwestern State, the Chaps struggled from behind the arc in the first half with 20 percent shooting but caught fire in the second half, shooting 90.9 percent (10-11) in the final 20 minutes of play.
 
CHARITY STRIPE
Although they have attempted the third-fewest free throws in the Lone Star Conference, Lubbock Christian leads the league and ranks 14th nationally in free throw percentage at 79.0 percent. The Chaps set a new LSC Championship record for free-throw percentage on Tuesday, shooting 95 percent (19-20) from the line. They also 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 85.3 free throw percentage (99-116).
 
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, 63.9 percent (49.0 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 16.1 points per game and is shooting 55.7 percent from the field, which is the third-best mark in the LSC. Hicks is second on the team with 13.5 points per game and has double-doubles in three of the last four games. Caswell averages 11.2 points per game. Aamer Muhammad set a new career-high with 17 points on Tuesday, and Joshua Davey has also contributed off the bench.
 
SCOUTING THE RAMS

• Angelo State finished fourth in the Lone Star Conference regular season, meaning they did not have to play a first round game in the LSC Tournament like the Chaps did
• The Rams did not have an All-LSC First Team selection, but had two players – Andres Ibaguen and Collin Turner – named to the Second Team
• ASU leads the conference and ranks No. 19 nationally in total rebounds per game with 40.15. Ibarguen leads the charge with 10.0 rebounds per game and does a large portion of his work on the offensive glass where he ranks No. 1 nationally with 5.23 boards per game
• Angelo State ranks No. 23 nationally in three-point field-goal percentage defenses. In the two regular season games between ASU and LCU, the Chaps were held to 27.8 percent (10-36) from behind the arc
• The was originally a junior college founded in 1928 as San Angelo College, moving to senior college status in 1965. The Rams were the 1957 National Junior College Athletic Association National Champions

 
THE SERIES WITH ASU
With losses in both the regular season meetings this year, Lubbock Christian trails in the all-time series with Angelo Sate 6-22. The Rams won the first nine meetings in the series that started in 1970, before the chaps finally got a 71-61 win in 1979. LCU's only back-to-back wins came in 1982, and their last win over Angelo State was in 2017, when they won 69-65 in San Angelo. LCU and ASU did face off seven times when the two schools both had Junior College status, with ASU winning every time. The all-time series is 29-6 if those games are included as well.