LUBBOCK CHRISTIAN (4-0, 4-0 LSC)
at ANGELO STATE (3-3, 3-3)
Thursday, January 14 – 7:30 PM
Junell Center (San Angelo, Texas)
All-Time Series: Angelo State leads 22-6
 
BACK AT IT
Lubbock Christian will be back on the hardwood Thursday night after an unexpected 10-day break. Their last game came on Jan. 3 as they took down UT Tyler 77-62 in Tyler. The Chaps were supposed to take on Texas A&M-Commerce in a pair of home games last weekend, but had those cancelled due to COVID-19 protocols. Angelo State also had a pair of games postponed last weekend, as they were set to take on Western New Mexico in a pair of non-conference games. The Rams were last on the court on Jan. 4 in a 92-72 win over Oklahoma Christian.
 
UNBLEMISHED
The Chaps have won their first four games of the season, taking down Oklahoma Christian twice and UT Tyler twice, with all four wins coming on the road. It is the first 4-0 start to the season since 2010-11, which was the last season for former coach/athletic director and LCU Athletic Hall of Honor member John Copeland to lead the team. No other team in in the Lone Star Conference that has played at least four games is still undefeated, and LCU is one of jut 22 NCAA Division II teams still without a loss. Four LSC teams enter this week of play with just one loss.
 
BOARD GAMES
In LCU's Jan. 2 win over UT Tyler, the Chaps out-rebounded the Patriots 43 to 23 -- a plus-20 margin. It was Lubbock Christian's largest single-game rebounding advantage since Nov. 30, 2019, when they pulled down 20 more rebounds against NAIA Oklahoma Panhandle State. The last time they were plus-20 or more on the glass against a Division II opponent, however, was Jan. 19, 2017, when they were +25 in a 90-83 win at St. Edward's. LCU has not trailed in the rebounding column yet this season and is averaging 11.0 rebounds per game more than their opponents, which is the ninth-best mark in all of Division II. Their average number of defensive rebounds per game (29.5) is also 15^th best among D-II teams.
 
SHARING IS CARING
Junior LCU guard Cameron Copley currently ranks third nationally in assists per game with 8.0, with the number also leading all Lone Star Conference players. Furthermore, the Chaps as a whole rank No. 6 nationally with 18.5 assists per game, and they rank second in the LSC behind only St. Edward's, who is just ahead of the Chaps at 18.8 assists per contest. LCU has 74 total assists this year, 32 of which have come from Copley. Rowan Mackenzie (3.8) and Lloyd Daniels (2.0) are the other two Chaparrals averaging multiple per game.
 
CHARITY STRIPE
The third and final statistical category in which Lubbock Christian ranks inside the top 10 nationally is free-throw percentage, where they are sixth in all of D-II with an 82.5 percent mark. LCU has attempted 80 free throws overall this year, which is just the 11^th most out of 13 LSC teams that have played at least four games so far this season, but their .825 percentage is the best. No other conference team is shooting higher than 76.7 percent (UTPB). Copley leads the Chaps with a perfect 11-11 performance at the line this year, and Ty Caswell has missed just once on 12 attempts from the charity stripe.
 
ROAD WARRIORS
Lubbock Christian started the season 2-0 on the road, which is something they had not previously done since moving to the NCAA Division II level (2013-14 season). Last year, the Chaps posted a 7-5 record in road games, averaging 72.9 points per game on 46.8 percent shooting. They allowed 75.2 points per game though, with opponents shooting 47.2 percent. Four of LCU's 2019-20 road wins came by less than five points. Lloyd Daniels (16.6), Parker Hicks (12.8) and Ty Caswell (11.3) all averaged double-figures in road games last season.
 
NATIONALLY KNOWN
For the second-straight week, the National Association of Basketball Coaches has put Lubbock Christian in their top 25 national poll, with the Chaps coming in at No. 22 overall. The spot is up two spots from the No. 24 ranking they received the week prior. This is the first time that the men's basketball program has been ranked in the top 25 nationally since moving to the NCAA in 2013.
 
SHARP-SHOOTERS
Heading into the weekend, Lubbock Christian ranks second in the LSC in both field-goal percentage (.500) and three-point field-goal percentage (.392), behind only DBU in both categories. LCU's season-high in shooting percentage came in their most recent game against UT Tyler, when they hit 52.9 percent of their shots. Mackenzie leads the team in overall field goal percentage at .633, while Lloyd Daniels has hit 60 percent of his three-point attempts to top the Chaps in that category.
 
SCOUTING THE RAMS

• Angelo State is 3-3 on the year, having swept Oklahoma Christian and split with both Dallas Baptist and Texas A&M-Kingsville.
• Sam Baker leads the Rams in scoring with an average of 13.7 points per game, but he was limited to just 2 and 10 points in the two matchups with Oklahoma Christian.
• ASU has the fifth-best offense in the league so far this year, averaging 80.5 points per game. Their defense, however, is sixth-worst, allowing 80.7 points per game.
• Head coach Cinco Boone is in his sixth season as the head coach of the Rams after serving as Chris Beard's assistant coach at Angelo State for two years. Boone has a 105-50 record at the helm of the program.
• Angelo State shoots the ball well overall, ranking fourth in the LSC with a .478 shooting percentage, but they have struggled from behind the arc so far, hitting only 29.6 percent of their three-point attempts.

 
THE SERIES WITH THE RAMS
These two teams have faced off 28 times since Lubbock Christian became a four-year school in 1970 and 36 times if the junior college matchups between the schools are counted. Angelo State leads the all-time matchup 22-6 and 30-6 when junior college games are added. The Chaps did not win a game against the Rams until 1979, and they have only won back-to-back matchups one, in 1982. ASU was victorious all three times the two teams met during the 2019-20 season, including a 97-92 win in overtime at the Lone Star Conference Tournament.