NO. 3 LUBBOCK CHRISTIAN (21-1, 9-1)
vs. NO. 19 WEST TEXAS A&M (20-5, 6-4)
Thursday, Feb. 10 – 7:30 p.m. CT
First United Bank Center (Canyon, Texas)
All-Time Series: WT leads 21-8
 
NEED TO KNOW

• Lubbock Christian and West Texas A&M are meeting for the second time this season, with Thursday's matchup counting toward the conference standings
• Parker Hicks set a new school record for points in a single game on Tuesday with 50 against TAMIU
• WT has the top offense in the league, averaging 81.1 points per game
• The Chaparrals are the third-best free throw shooting team in the nation, shooting 79.7 percent from the line
• LCU is currently ranked No. 3 in both D-II national polls
• Lubbock Christian has been out-rebounded in five straight games

 
BACK ON TRACK
Lubbock Christian got back into the win column on Tuesday night, winning a COVID makeup game against Texas A&M International 76-68. Hicks was the star of the show, shooting 73 percent from the field (16-22) and setting a new LCU program record with 50 total points. He scored the first 34 points of the game for LCU. The 50 points are the most scored by an LSC player this year and tied for the fifth-most by any player in Division II this season. Hicks was two points away from matching the Lone Star Conference record for points scored in a league game and five points shy of tying the league's best single-game mark ever. He is the first LSC player to reach the 50-point mark in a game since Chris Hagen (Midwestern State) did it on Dec. 13, 2010.
 
SHARP-SHOOTERS
Hicks did the bulk of the scoring, but another three Chaps did find their way into the box score, including 17 points from Lloyd Daniels, 15 of which came in the second half. The Chaps shot 52 percent overall in the game, marking their third straight game to shoot 50 percent or better and the 15^th time they have done it this season. The Chaps are shooting 51.8 percent for the year, which is the sixth-best mark in all of Division II. Hicks (55.1 percent) and Daniels (54.0 percent) are first and second in the conference in shooting percentage individually. LCU is also shooting 39.7 percent from behind the arc, which ranks No. 15 nationally.
 
IN THEIR DEFENSE
Lubbock Christian also has one of the best defenses in the nation, ranking No. 4 in all of D-II with an opponent field goal percentage of just 38.8. They allow just 61.5 points per game on average, which is the fifth-best mark nationally as well. Dallas Baptist last Saturday was just the second team all season to shoot better than 50 percent from the field against the Chaps. Nine different LCU opponents this season have suffered their lowest scoring output of the season against the Chaps, including Midwestern State a week ago. The Chaps are tough to score on because of a full team effort, but Hicks has been recognized with five LSC Defensive Player of the Week awards for his role, and in particular, his 7.50 defensive rebounds per game, which rank first in the league and No. 16 nationally.
 
RIVALRY ON THE RANGE
The LCU/WT matchup Thursday is the ninth 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. The Chaps and Buffs are currently tied at six points apiece in the series. Fans can review the scoring system and follow the standings on rivalryontherange.com.
 
NATIONALLY KNOWN
After suffering their first loss of the season on Saturday, the Chaps dropped out of the No. 1 spot after nine straight weeks at the top of the polls. They are now No. 3 in both polls, dropping behind undefeated Nova Southeastern and Northwest Missouri State, although the Bearcats lost last night after this week's rankings had been released. 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 were not ranked at the time, they have since climbed to No. 23 in this week's NABC poll. WT comes into the week ranked No. 19 in the D2SIDA poll and No. 24 in the NABC poll.
 
ON THE ROAD AGAIN
Lubbock Christian has played seven true road games this season, winning every one of them. They are averaging 75.1 points per game on 51.0 percent shooting in hostile territory, having beaten Hawaii Pacific, Chaminade, Western N.M., Texas A&M-Commerce, UT Tyler, Angelo State and UT Permian Basin. Opponents on the road are averaging just 60.4 points per game on only 38.3 percent shooting. West Texas A&M plays its home games at the First United Bank Center, which was opened in January of 2002 and seats approximately 4,700 for sporting events. The Buffs are 13-1 on their home court, suffering the one loss on Jan. 20 against Angelo State (82-79).
 
TOP OF THE CLASS
Next week, the watch list for the Bevo Francis Award, which is given to the best player in small college basketball (D-II, D-III, NAIA, USCAA and NCCAA), will be cut from 100 to 50. Both Hicks and Daniels were on the initial list, which was announced on Jan. 15. 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 more throughout the coming months, with the winner being announced on April 4.
 
SCOUTING THE BUFFS

• WT ranks No. 5 nationally in free throw attempts and shoots pretty well from the charity stripe, posting a team percentage of 73.6
• The Buffs' field goal percentage defense is the third-best in the LSC, ranking behind LCU and Arkansas-Fort Smith at 41.4 percent
• Zach Toussaint leads WT in scoring with 15.4 points per game and does a large portion of his scoring from behind the arc, where he ranks third in the conference with 65 made threes
• WT head coach Tom Brown has been leading the team for eight seasons and recently notched his 200^th win as the Buff head coach
• The Buffs average 40.6 rebounds per game, which leads the Lone Star Conference

 
THE SERIES WITH THE BUFFS
Lubbock Christian and West Texas A&M have met a total of 29 times on the hardwood in a series dating all the way back to 1978. WT has a 21-8 lead in the series, including wins in the first 10 meetings between the teams, but the series has been much more even as of late. Since LCU moved into the NCAA, there have been 13 matchups against West Texas A&M, with the Chaps winning six times, including a win earlier this season in a nonconference matchup in Lubbock.