Men's Basketball | 11.17.2021
No. 3 LUBBOCK CHRISTIAN (2-0) vs.
No. 1 WEST TEXAS A&M (5-0)
Thursday, November 18 – 7 PM
Rip Griffin Center (Lubbock, Texas)
All-Time Series: WT leads 21-7
SHARING AND CARING
Through their first two games of the 2021-22 season, the Lubbock Christian men's basketball team is averaging just 7.0 turnovers per contest. That was their exact number of giveaways in both of last weekend's games, and their average is currently second in all of NCAA Division II, just behind Franklin Pierce at 6.5 turnovers per game. To make matters even better, the Chaps had 32 assists in the two games combined, giving them an assist to turnover ratio of 2.3, which leads the Lone Star Conference and ranks No. 6 nationally.
Rowan Mackenzie leads the team in assist/turnover ratio individually with seven helpers and just one miscue.
Lloyd Daniels leads in total assists with nine.
FOUL PLAY
The Chaps attempted 27 free throws in their first weekend of play and made 24 of them. Their percentage made from the charity stripe is 88.9 percent, which leads all of NCAA Division II, just ahead of Point Loma's 88.4 percent (38-43). Five LCU players attempted free throws in the two games, with
Aamer Muhammad (11-11) and Makenzie (4-4) still perfect from the line. The Chaps led the LSC last season in free throw shooting, hitting 79.6 percent of their attempts (281-353). Four Chaps who saw regular playing time – Muhammad,
Ty Caswell and
Cameron Copley – shot better than 80 percent from the free throw line. LCU limited fouls on their opponents to just 11.0 per game, which ranks seventh in the NCAA.
DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
LCU opponents so far this season have averaged just 59.5 points per game, ranking the Chaps No. 16 nationally in scoring defense. Regis and Colorado School of Mines combined to shoot just 39.1 percent from the field, including a measly 27.5 percent from behind the arc. The Chaps also did a good job of limiting their opponent chances allowing only 14 offensive rebounds througt the first two games and just 19 second-chance points. Last season, LCU's scoring defense mark of 64.5 points per game was the ninth-best in all of Division II.
BIG SHOTS
On the opposite end of the floor, Lubbock Christian also had a good start to the season, hitting 54 percent of shots themselves. They rank No. 17 nationally in field goal percentage and second in their conference, behind only Western New Mexico's 55.2 percent.
Jalen Brattain, Makenzie, Hick, and Daniels are all shooting better than 50 percent from the field at the moment with at least 10 shot attempts. LCU did, however, struggle somewhat from behind the arc, hitting only 37.2 percent of their three-point attempts compared to 43.8 percent last season.
NATIONALLY KNOWN
The National Association of Basketball Coaches will not release an in-season top-25 poll until next week, meaning their rankings are still in preseason form with LCU at No. 9 and WT at No. 4. But the Division II Sports Information Directors Association did release a new poll on Tuesday of this week, with the Chaparrals ranked No. 3 and the Buffs ranked No. 1 nationally. LCU's most recent matchup was also against a top-five opponent, as they took down No. 5-ranked Colorado School of Mines. Last season was the first time the Chaps were ranked in the top 25 in the NCAA and they reached as high as No. 2 nationally.
RIVALRY ON THE RANGE
The LCU/WT matchup Friday is the sixth in the Rivalry on the Range series for the 2021-22 school year. Announced on August 6, 2019, the Rivalry on the Range 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 includes 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. Fans can review the scoring system and follow the standings on rivalryontherange.com.
NO PLACE LIKE HOME
Thursday's game is the third of 14 total home games for Lubbock Christian. The Chaps had an 8-3 record on their home court last year, averaging 82.7 points per game and holding opponents to just 63.5. In the 10-plus season under head coach
Todd Duncan, LCU is 111-27 at home (.809).
SCOUTING THE BUFFS
- WT started a play a week earlier than the Chaps and are 5-0 to start the 2021-22 season
- Larry Wise is the team's leading scorer with an average of 17.0 points per game. He transferred from North Texas, where he played in 18 games across two seasons
- The Buffs were the 2020-21 national runners-up, falling 80-54 to Northwest Missouri State in the national title game
- WT's top two scorer from last season are no longer with the team, as Joel Murray and Qua Grant left for Division I programs
- Julius Brown was also added to the roster for the 2021-22 season after previously playing for Lincoln-Memorial. Brown and the Railsplitters lost to the Buffs in the Final Four last season.
THE SERIES WITH THE BUFFS
Lubbock Christian and West Texas A&M have been meeting on the hardwood since 1978, with the Buffs leading the all-time series 21-7. WT took an early lead, winning the first 10 matchups, but the series has been much more even in recent years. Since 2014, which was the first meeting between the two schools when they were both Division II, LCU is 5-7 against WT. Last year, the Chaps went 1-2 against the Buffs, losing twice in the Rip Griffin Center but winning a regular season finale in Canyon to capture the Lone Star Conference title.
