Men's Basketball | 11.25.2024

LUBBOCK CHRISTIAN (3-3)
vs. UT DALLAS (3-3)
Tuesday, Nov. 26 – 7:30 p.m.
Rip Griffin Center (Lubbock, Texas)
 
TIPOFF
A brand new opponent will enter the Rip Griffin Center on Tuesday night as Lubbock Christian welcomes UT Dallas for a nonconference battle. UTD will soon become a familiar foe, as they join the Lone Star Conference and become NCAA Division II members in July of 2025. They are currently Division III members of the American Southwest Conference. The Chaps and Comets will both be trying to avoid dropping below .500 as they enter the matchup with identical 3-3 records on the year. 
 
BEYOND THE ARC
Lubbock Christian hit 11 of their 24 three-point attempts in the game against St. Mary's, raising their season mark to 43.0 percent. That number leads the LSC and ranks No. 10 in all of Division II. The last time the Chaps shot better than that mark in a full season was 2020-21, when they hit threes at a 43.8 percent mark. Ethan Duncan leads the way with 20 made threes, which is the second-most in the league. He is shooting 48.8 percent from behind the arc.
 
SHARP-SHOOTERS
Effective field goal percentage is a statistic that adjusts field goal percentage to account for the fact that three-point field goals count for three points, while all other field goals only count for two points. Lubbock Christian leads the LSC and No. 36 nationally in that category at 57.2 percent. Their overall field-goal percentage at 48.0, which ranks third in the LSC. Sean Murphy, Ty Caswell, and Jaylen Thompson are all shooting 50 percent or better on at least 15 attempts this year.
 
CHARITY STRIPE
After struggling in their first two games of the season at the free throw line (.417, .462), Lubbock Christian has bounced back in a big way and now leads the conference with their 73.3 percentage at the line. They have shot better than 80 percent in each of their last four games, including a season-high 87.5 percent against Regis on Nov. 9. Duncan is a perfect 6-for-6 from the line and Najeeb Muhammad and Caswell are both shooting better than 80 percent.
 
FRESH FACES
Despite the loss Saturday, LCU got a solid performance from Alex Anamekwe, who scored 10 points, pulled down three rebounds and had two assists in just 19 minutes off the bench. His strong showing was one of several already this season by the slew of newcomers on the roster. Overall, new players have scored just over half (50.4 percent) of LCU's 472 total points this year. Amondo Miller Jr. leads the way with 15.0 points per game and also leads the team with 5.2 rebounds per game after tranferring from Fort Lewis. Murphy and Thompson are both averaging more than eight points per game and Anamekwe is averaging 7.2 points per game.
 
PROTECT THE ROCK
Through five games, Lubbock Christian is averaging just 9.7 turnovers per game, which is the second-fewest in the Lone Star Conference behind only Texas A&M-Kingsville's 9.5. Both Aaron Gonzales and Duncan are averaging at least 15 minutes of playing per game with fewer than five turnovers on the year. Muhammad has only turned the ball over eight times against a team-leading 24 assists. His 3.0 assist-to-turnover ratio ranks second in the LSC.
 
WHERE THE HEART IS
The Chaps are in the midst of a four-game home streak and will play a total of 13 games on their home court this year. Officially dedicated on October 9, 2000, the Rip Griffin Center, seating capacity is 1,950 for sporting events. Lubbock Christian went 11-4 on its home floor a season ago, averaging 83.0 points on 53.1 percent shooting. Najeeb Muhammad, Ethan Duncan and Aaron Gonzales all averaged double-figures in home contests last year. In the Todd Duncan era, the Chaps have a 145-38 record (.795) on their home floor.
 
THE SERIES WITH THE COMETS
Lubbock Christian and UT Dallas have never met in men's basketball. The school was initially founded in 1961as a private research arm of Texas Intstruments. Their varsity athletic program began in 1998 when they became members of NCAA Division III and the American Southwest Conference. Basketball began competition that fall. They are 432-261 in the history of their program and have two ASC Championships, including the 2023-24 season. They have reached the NCAA Tournament eight times.
 
SCOUTING THE COMETS

• Head Coach Jared Fleming is in just his second season leading the Comets, taking them to a 19-10 record and a 12-4 showing in league play last year
• The Comets have gone 1-1 each weekend of the season so far, just like Lubbock Christian
• LCU and UTD have two common opponents in Regis and Colorado School of Mines, but had opposite results against the pair. UT Dallas beat the Rangers 86-71 on Nov. 15 but lost to the Orediggers 90-55 on Nov. 16
• Three Comets are averaging double-figures, including Austin Page (12.0), Matthew Soto (11.2) and Nick Donnelly (10.2)
• UTD is averaging 69.2 points per game, which would rank as the fourth-fewest in the Lone Star Conference