NO. 1 LUBBOCK CHRISTIAN (16-0, 4-0)
vs. ST. EDWARD'S (8-7, 2-3)
Thursday, Jan. 20 – 7:30 p.m. CT
Rip Griffin Center (Lubbock, Texas)
All-Time Series: LCU leads 17-11
 
NEED TO KNOW

• Chap forward Parker Hicks won his second-straight LSC Defensive Player of the Week award Monday, and it is his fifth time to win this season
• LCU is ranked No. 1 nationally in both NCAA D-II polls
• The Chaps have the No. 1 scoring defense in the league and rank No. 4 nationally, allowing just 59.1 points per game
• SEU forward Logan Cook is the LSC's leading rebounder with 8.9 boards per game
• LCU is 8-0 at the Rip Griffin Center this season and 117-27 (.809) in home games since Todd Duncan took over as head coach
• Four Chap players are averaging double-figures

 
AND THEN THERE WERE THREE
With Chico State and Minnesota Duluth losing this past week, there are now only three undefeated teams remaining across all of NCAA Division II out of the 297 programs competing in men's basketball, and Lubbock Christian is one of them. Cal State San Marcos and Nova Southwestern are the other two, but neither of those teams has played as many games as the Chaps. The 16-0 start for LCU matches their best in program history, which was set just last year. A win on Thursday against St. Edward's would set a new program record. There have been just five undefeated, national champion men's basketball team in D-II men's basketball history.
 
KEEPIN' IT 100
On Saturday, Small College Basketball announced the Top-100 Watch List for the Bevo Francis Award, which features 100 players from DII, DIII, NAIA, USCAA, and NCCAA men's college basketball. Both Hicks and senior Chap guard Lloyd Daniels are on the list. The award was created in 2015 and is named after Clarence "Bevo" Francis. Francis played two seasons at what is now the University of Rio Grande. In his first season, he led the team to a 39-0 record averaging 50.1 points per game, highlighted by a 116-point performance against Ashland College in Kentucky. The list will shrink throughout the coming months, with the winner being announced on April 4.
 
IN THEIR DEFENSE
Last Thursday, Texas A&M-Commerce became the seventh different team to record its lowest scoring output of the season against LCU. The Chaps have played incredible defense throughout the year, holding opponents to an average of 59.1 points per game. That mark leads the LSC and ranks No. 4 nationally, and their opponent field goal percentage of 37.9 is the third-best in all of Division II. Finally, opposing teams are shooting just 28.2 percent from behind the arc, which ranks No. 7 nationally. LCU has accomplished all this while ranking 10^th in the LSC in blocks per game (3.0) and dead last in steals per game (4.33). Obviously, defending is a team effort, but the Hicks has been recognized as LSC Defensive Player of the Week five times for his role on the defense, especially as one of the league's best rebounders.
 
SHARP-SHOOTERS
Luckily, LCU doesn't have to shoot against itself, and they have taken advantage of opposing defenses to the tune of a 52.2 field goal percentage, which ranks fifth in the nation. They haven't been quite as good from behind the arc, where they are shooting 39.0 percent, but that mark is still good enough to rank No. 2 in the LSC and 23^rd in D-II. Hicks (55.6) and Daniels (55.2) rank first and second in the league in shooting, and the two have traded places in the rankings several times throughout the year. Aamer Muhammad also shows up on the league's top-10 at No. 8, shooting 47.3 percent for the year.  
 
FREEBIES
The Chaps have also shot exceptionally well from the free-throw line, which became especially important last week as they won a pair of games by single digits that were close in the final minutes. LCU is shooting 81.1 percent from the line overall, which ranks No. 3 nationally. Hicks has been the best from the charity stripe, hit on 86.5 percent of his attempts (45-52), and he was a perfect 11-11 in the two games combined last week. Four other LCU players have at least 20 attempts from the free throw line this season and are shooting better than 75 percent.
 
STILL THE ONE
For the seventh straight week, the Chaparrals are ranked No. 1 in both NCAA Division II national top-25 polls. They drew 395 points and 14 of the 16 first place votes in the NABC coaches poll, ranking ahead of Northwest Missouri State. The Bearcats are also ranked No. 2 in the D2SIDA media poll, behind LCU's 390 points and nine (out of 16) first place votes. The Chaps have beaten three opponents who were ranked at the time of playing this season. They also beat Regis to start the year, and although the Rangers was not ranked at the time, the Rangers have not lost a game since, climbing to No. 12 in the NABC poll and No. 17 in the D2SIDA poll.   
 
HOME COURT ADVANTAGE
Thursday's game is the ninth of 15 total home games for Lubbock Christian. The Chaps are 8-0 on their own court so far this season with an average of 81.5 points per game on 51.2 percent shooting. Opponents entering the Rip have been held to just 59.3 points per game on 38.0 percent shooting. In the 10-plus seasons under head coach Todd Duncan, LCU is 117-27 at home (.809). Officially dedicated on October 9, 2000, the Rip Griffin Center has been the home of the Chaps for more than two decades and can seat 1,950 for sporting events.
 
SCOUTING THE HILLTOPPERS

• St. Edward's second LSC win came by way of forfeit last week, as Cameron was unable to play due to COVID-19. SEU's only other win in league play was against Angelo State
• The Hilltoppers have attempted 423 three-pointers this season, which is the second-most in the LSC and ranks No. 30 nationally
• Daniel Venzant, a transfer from Cal State Fullerton, is the star of the Hilltoppers, and his 18.4 points per game are the second-most in the league
• Another D-I transfer, Uche Dibiamaka from UTRGV, is the only other St. Edward's player averaging double-figures with 14.1 points per game
• SEU ranks second behind LCU in the conference in free throw shooting percentage, hitting on 80.4 percent of their attempts from the charity stripe

 
THE SERIES WITH THE HILLTOPPERS
Thursday's meeting will be the 29^th all-time in the series between Lubbock Christian and St. Edward's, which LCU leads 17-11. The first meeting came all the way back in 1985 and was a Chap win, 75-64. Both teams have had dominant runs in the series, including six straight wins by SEU from 1990-94 and seven straight by the Chaps from 1995-2014. Things have been more even recently, with the two squads splitting the last eight meetings 4-4.