RV LUBBOCK CHRISTIAN (0-0)
vs. MISSOURI WESTERN (0-0)
Friday, Nov. 1 – 1:30 p.m.
First United Bank Center (Canyon, Texas)
 
GUESS WHO'S BACK
Lubbock Christian returns eight players from the 2023-24 roster, including three of their top four scorers. The returnees include Najeeb Muhammad, Trey Thompson, Dylan Walker, Aaron Gonzales, Ethan Duncan, Kendall Dow, Ty Caswell and Reagan Fiedler. Duncan is the team's top returning scorer at 14.8 points per game, followed closely by Muhammad at 13.6 points per game. Duncan is also the team's top returning rebounder at 3.4 per game. Muhammad led the team in assists last year with 3.7 per contest.
 
FRESH FACES
The other seven players on the team are new to the Chaparrals. The newbies include AJ Kula, Jaylen Thompson, Devin Baccas, Amondo Miller Jr., Alex Anamekwe, Albert McBride Jr. and Sean Murphy. Baccas is the only freshman newcomer, coming to LCU out of Randall H.S. The other six transferred to Lubbock Christian, all from other NCAA universities. Anamekwe transferred from the University of Texas, while the other five came from other Division II schools.
 
PRESEASON PREDICTIONS
The Lone Star Conference released the 2024 Men's Basketball Presason Poll on Oct. 20 with the Chaps slotted third and Muhammad as one of the league's Players to Watch. The Chaps were slated to finish third with four first-place votes. Only No.1 West Texas A&M and No.2 Dallas Baptist finished ahead of LCU. LCU received four first-place votes for the first time since they were slated to win the conference in 2021-22. In league play, the Chaps will play 22 games, taking on each member of the West Division twice and facing each East Division team once.
 
LEADING THE CHARGE
Back to lead the Chaparrals for an 14^th straight season is head coach Todd Duncan. The seventh coach in program history, Duncan took over starting with the 2011-12 season. Prior to that, he spent 15 successful years as the head boys basketball coach and athletic director at Trinity Christian H.S. In his 13 prior seasons, Duncan has built a record of 244-134 and led the program to the NCAA Tournament seven times in the 10 seasons they have been eligible. Duncan is joined by Jason Imes, who has been his assistant for all 14 seasons, along with three graduate assistants. Lloyd Daniels, who played for the Chaps from 2019-2022, returns as a staff member and is joined by newcomers Sam Reaves and Kolton Trimmier.
 
NATIONALLY KNOWN
The National Association of Basketball Coaches preseason poll was released on Oct. 20, and although the Chaps did not receive a spot in the top 25, they did receive votes. Their 48 points in the poll would've put them tied for No. 31 if the rankings extended that far. LCU was last in the national rankings early in the 2022-23 season, when they were ranked No. 16 in the NABC poll and No. 24 in the D2CSC poll. The 2024-25 D2CSC preseason poll has not been released.
 
HINDSIGHT
The Chaps are coming off a 23-11 season in which they qualified for the NCAA South Central Regional in Canyon, Texas. LCU was an LSC Tournament Finalist and 16-6 in conference play and 10-4 in the West Division to finish second in the division. Lubbock Christian had one of the most efficient offenses in all of Division II, ranking No. 7 in effective field goal percentage at .581. They averaged 78.6 points per game and limited opponents to 69.7 points per game.
 
STUDENT-ATHLETES
Over the summer, the Chaps were recognized with the NABC Team Excellence Award, which is presented to programs that completed the 2023-24 academic year with a team GPA of 3.0 or higher. Furthermore, Ty Caswell and Aaron Gonzales were named to the NABC Honors Court, which includes junior, senior and graduate student men's basketball players who finished the 2023-24 year with a cumulative GPA of 3.2 or higher. Both players were also members of the LSC All-Academic Team and CSC Academic All-District Team.
 
SCOUTING THE GRIFFONS

• Missouri Western finished the 2023-24 season 17-13 overall and 10-12 in the MIAA to place ninth in the league
• They started the season 7-0 for their best start since 1999 and they claimed three wins over ranked opponents
• The Griffons were picked to finish sixth in the 2024-25 MIAA preseason poll with 105 points. Washburn was picked to win the league
• MW lost their top two scorers from a season ago but does return Julius Dixon and Zion Swader, who both averaged double figures in 2023-24
• Five new players were added to the Griffon roster for this upcoming season, including three upper-classmen transfers and two freshmen

 
SCOUTING THE HUSKIES

• St. Cloud State Men's Basketball was projected to finish 9th in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Preseason Coaches' Poll
• Sophomore Lucas Morgan was picked as one of the league's players to watch after averaging 10 points and 5.7 rebounds per game last year
• The Huskies finished last season 12-17 overall and 8-14 in NSIC play, putting them in 12^th in the 15-team conference
• Head coach Quincy Henderson is in his third season at the helm of the Husky program with an all-time record of 24-52 at SCSU
• SCSU has been playing basketball as far back as 1901, when records show a 13-10 loss to Minneapolis Central H.S. along with wins over Park Rapids and Brainerd