No. 21 LUBBOCK CHRISTIAN (21-6, 16-3)
at TEXAS A&M-KINGSVILLE (11-15, 7-13)
Saturday, February 22 – 3 p.m.
Steinke Physical Education Center (Kingsville, Texas)
 
TIPOFF
Lubbock Christian won its ninth consecutive game on Thursday night and will go for number 10 on Saturday when they take on Texas A&M-Kingsville. It is now the longest active streak in the Lone Star Conference after DBU's 11-game win streak was snapped on Thursday. It is LCU's longest win streak since the 2021-22 season, when they won 19 straight games to start the year. The Chaps have just three games left in the regular season overall, taking on Midwestern State twice next week – on the road and at home – to close out the slate.
 
LOOKING AT THE LONE STAR
Both teams ahead of the Chaps in the Lone Star Conference Standings – DBU and St. Mary's – lost on Thursday night. DBU shot just 17 percent behind the arc in a 68-61 loss at Angelo State, and the Rattlers lost on the road in Canyon. LCU is now in sole possession of second place in the league, ahead of St. Mary's and a game and a half back of the Patriots for first place. Also tied with St. Mary's for third is Midwestern State, who are hot on the heels of the Chaps in the West Division.
 
REGIONALLY RECOGNIZED
The first NCAA South Central Regional rankings were released on Wednesday and the Chaps are one of the 10 teams under consideration. This first week of rankings are only listed alphabetically. The other LSC teams under consideration include DBU, Eastern New Mexico, Midwestern State, St. Mary's and West Texas A&M. The other teams all hail from the RMAC and include Colorado School of Mines, Fort Lewis, MSU Denver and Regis. Next Wednesday's list will actually be ranked.
 
NATIONALLY KNOWN
Lubbock Christian entered the national top-25 rankings in both polls this week, earning the No. 21 spot in both the National Association of Basketball Coaches poll and in the D2CSC Media poll. Only one other Lone Star Conference team is in the polls, as DBU is ranked No. 4 by D2CSC and No. 5 by the NABC, but Midwestern State is also receiving votes. Lubbock Christian's early-season opponent Colorado School of Mines is also  in the polls at No. 7 in the NABC and No. 10 in the D2CSC. The Chaps have beaten both of those teams this season. 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.
 
AWARD CENTRAL
Lubbock Christian senior guard Najeeb Muhammad was named the Lone Star Conference Offensive Player of the week, the league announced on Monday. He shot an extremely efficient 62.5 percent from the field and made all 13 of his free throw attempts in the week, averaging 25.5 points per game. He played all 40 minutes against Angelo State, scoring 21 and dishing out five assists. Then on Saturday, he set a new career-high with 30 against UT Permian Basin, going 9-10 from the field, including 5-6 from behind the arc. His five made threes were also a career high. On the defensive end, Muhammad chipped in eight rebounds, two blocks and four steals.
 
PROTECT THE ROCK
The Chaparrals enter the weekend leading the conference and rank 10^th in the nation in turnovers per game with only 9.6. Their assist to turnover ratio of 1.47 also leads the conference and ranks No. 19 nationally. Sixteen times this season the Chaps have committed less than 10 turnovers, including a season-low two against Angelo State on Jan. 18, and they are 11-5 in those contests. Individually, Najeeb Muhammad leads the conference with an assist to turnover ratio of 3.4. His 106 assists are the fifth-most in the LSC, and he has 363 in his three-year LCU career.
 
CHARITY STRIPE
Against the Dustdevils, Lubbock Christian got to the free throw line 19 times, making 18 of their attempts. It was the second straight game they played with only one free throw missed. It is the fifth time this season they have shot at least 90 percent and raised their season percentage to 80.5 percent, which is the No. 2 mark in the nation. Ty Caswell and Ethan Duncan are both shooting better than 90 percent from the charity stripe, but do not have enough attempts to qualify for the national/conference leaderboards. Muhammad does though, and his .871 percentage ranks second in the LSC. 
 
ROAD JOURNAL
LCU is playing their second-to-last true road game of the season, boasting a 9-2 record so far. Their two true road losses came at Regis and at Angelo State, but they are also 2-2 in neutral site games. They are averaging 74.2 points per game on the road compared to 81.7 inside the Rip Griffin Center. The biggest difference comes behind the arc, where LCU shoots 42.1 percent at home and only 35 percent on the road. Opponents are scoring 66.3 points per game on 42.4 percent shooting. Duncan is the team's leading scorer in road games with an average of 17.4 points per game on 47.6 percent shooting. Amondo Miller Jr. and Sean Murphy Thompson are also averaging double-figures in road games.
 
THE SERIES WITH THE JAVELINAS
Matchups between Lubbock Christian and Texas A&M-Kingsville have been rare over the years, with only five meetings all-time. The first was in 1997, and all four others have come since Lubbock Christian joined the Lone Star Conference in 2019. The Chaps lead the all-time series 3-2, including back-to-back wins. TAMUK's last win was in 2022 at the Lone Star Conference Tournament, when they pulled off a 72-69 victory.
 
SCOUTING THE JAVELINAS

• TAMUK has lost back-to-back games and five of their last seven contests
• The Javelinas shoot 42% from the field, which is the third-worst in the LSC
• Omar Gonzalez is in his second season as the Javelina head coach after previously serving as the assistant to former head coach Johnny Estelle
• Isaiah Payne leads TAMUK in scoring with an average of 15.0 points per game on 48.8 percent shooting
• This will serve as the Senior Day game for the Javelinas, as they honor the graduating players on their roster in their final home game