Men's Basketball | 01.22.2025

LUBBOCK CHRISTIAN (12-6, 7-3)
vs. OKLAHOMA CHRISTIAN (6-10, 3-8)
Thursday, January 23 – 7:30 p.m.
Rip Griffin Center (Lubbock, Texas)
 
TIPOFF
Lubbock Christian returns to the Rip Griffin Center on Thursday looking to bounce back from a loss playing in front of their home fans (and students, who are back for the first time since Christmas break). The Chaps struggled offensively Saturday and will look to rebound against Oklahoma Christian, who comes in with the second-worst scoring defense in the LSC. The Eagles enter the matchup having lost five of their last six, with the one win coming against St. Edward's a week ago.
 
PROTECT THE ROCK
Lubbock Christian turned the ball over just two times in the game. It is their fewest in a single game since March 14, 2021, when they also turned it over twice against Oklahoma Baptist in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. This season, the Chaps average just 9.6 turnovers per game, which is the fewest in the Lone Star Conference and ranks No. 8 nationally. LCU also ranks first in the league in assist to turnover ratio at 1.49. Chap guard Najeeb Muhammad is the league-leader in that category individually at 3.4.
 
WHERE THE HEART IS
Thursday's game kicks off a four-game homestand for the Chaps, who are 4-2 at the Rip Griffin Center this season. On their home floor this season, LCU is averaging 86.5 points per game on 50.6 percent shooting. Opponents in the Rip are averaging 68.5 points on just 47.1 percent shooting. Amondo Miller Jr., Ethan Duncan, Ty Caswell and Sean Murphy are all averaging double-figures at home this year. The Chaps are 148-81 (.649) in home games under head coach Todd Duncan.
 
FAIR OR FOUL
The Chaps were called for 21 personal fouls on Saturday against Angelo State, their most in a single-game this season. LCU averages just 15.2 fouls per game, which is the second-fewest in the Lone Star Conference, only behind Midwestern State's 14.0. Seven times this season the Chaps have committed less than 15 fouls in a game, including a season-low of nine against UT Tyler on Dec. 4. Both Aaron Gonzales and Kendall Dow are averaging at least 10 minutes of playing time per game with fewer than 15 total fouls this season.
 
DOUBLE-TROUBLE
In last Thursday's game against UT Permian Basin, Miller Jr. scored 20 points and pulled down 12 rebounds for his first double-double of the season and third from the Chaps on the year. The other two double-double performances came from Sean Murphy, who had one against St. Cloud State (14 points, 11 rebounds) and another against Western New Mexico (14 points, 10 rebounds). Miller Jr. has just missed out on two others and Caswell was just two points shy of a double-double on Saturday against Angelo State.
 
BEYOND THE ARC
Despite hitting just one of their 14 three-point attempts in Saturday's loss to the Rams, the Chaps still rank No. 1 in the Lone Star Conference in three-point field goal percentage at 39.7 this season. They average 9.6 made three-pointers per game, which also leads the LSC. Thompson, Caswell, and Duncan are all shooting better than 40 percent from behind the arc. Duncan is second in the conference in three-point field goal percentage and is also 13^th in the country in total three-pointers made with 58.
 
OFFENSIVE OPTIONS
Lubbock Christian has a balanced scoring attack this season, with four different players averaging double-figures and two more with more than seven. Duncan leads the team in scoring with 16.6 points per game and is averaging 18.3 in LSC games, which leads the conference. Miller Jr. is averaging 12.9, Murphy chips in 10.7 and Muhammad is averaging 10.4 after a pair of double-digit scoring efforts last week.
 
LOOKING AT THE LONE STAR
St. Mary's sits atop the league heading into the weekend and will put their 9-1 LSC record to the test in home games against Angelo State and UT Permian Basin. They are followed closely by DBU at 9-2, with both teams competing in the East Division. Back atop the West Division is UT Permian Basin at 5-2, although Midwestern State and LCU both have just two divisional losses as well, but only four wins.
 
THE SERIES WITH THE EAGLES
Lubbock Christian and Oklahoma Christian have been meeting on the hardwood as far back as 1971, which was the first year the Chaparrals competed as a four-year institution. The Eagles lead the all-time series 41-32, but LCU has won each of the last five meetings and 15 of the last 20. LCU won last season's matchup 87-76, with all five starters finishing in double-figures.
 
SCOUTING THE EAGLES

• Guard Marco Foster leads the league in three-point field goal percentage, shooting 46.8 percent from behind the arc
• Oklahoma Christian averages just 1.75 blocked shots per game, which is the fewest in the LSC
• A former Eagle player himself, head coach Keandre Talley is in his sixth season leading the program with an all-time record of 52-91
• Opponents only shoot 65.1 percent from the free throw line, which is the lowest mark in the conference
• Keyondre Young leads the Eagles in scoring and is 10^th in the conference, averaging 15.4 points per game