No. 17 LUBBOCK CHRISTIAN (22-6, 17-3)
vs. MIDWESTERN STATE (21-5, 7-16-3)
Thursday, February 26 – 7:30 p.m.
D.L. Ligon Coliseum (Wichita Falls, Texas)
 
TIPOFF
It's the final week of the regular season for the Lubbock Christian men's basketball team, which will take on Midwestern State twice to close it out. It is a home-and-home with the Mustangs, with Thursday's game taking place at D.L. Ligon Coliseum, and MSU will make the return trip on Saturday for LCU's Senior Day. The pair of games between the Chaps and Mustangs will decide the winner of the Lone Star Conference West Division, with MSU currently just a game back of LCU.
 
THE DEFENSE DOESN'T REST
This week's matchups will feature the two best defensive teams in the Lone Star Conference. LCU leads the league in scoring defense, limiting opponents to an average of 65.6 points per game, but MSU is right on the heels, allowing an averaging of 65.8 points per game. Chap opponents shoot 43 percent from the field, including 32.7 percent from behind the arc. LCU has limited opponents to worse than 50 percent shooting 21 times this season, going 19-2 in those contests. They are 9-0 when limiting opponents to less than 40 percent shooting.
 
PROTECT THE ROCK
Lubbock Christian is the best team in the conference and one of the best in the nation at taking care of the basketball. The Chaps rank No. 6 nationally and lead the LSC in turnovers per game, averaging just 9.5. They have limited their turnovers to single-digits 17 time this season, including a season-low two on Jan. 18, going 12-5 in those contests. They also lead the league in assist to turnover ratio at 1.48, averaging 14.04 assist per game. Individually, Najeeb Muhammad leads the conference in assist to turnover ratio at 3.2.
 
CHARITY STRIPE
Against the Javelinas, Lubbock Christian got to the free throw line 8 times, making 7 of their attempts. It was the third straight game they played with only one free throw missed.
They have shot at least 90 percent five times this season and their season percentage is  80.6 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 .863 percentage ranks second in the LSC. 
 
LOOKING AT THE LONE STAR
With this being the final week of the regular season, there is a lot on the line for teams in the conference when it comes to making the LSC postseason tournament and earning a higher seed. If DBU beats UT Tyler on Thursday, the Patriots clinch at least a share of the LSC title. The Chaps would have to win both games this week to share in that title, and if that happens, LCU would be the No. 1 seed at next week's conference tournament. The Chaps can claim the west division crown by winning one game this week, but if Midwestern State can win the division if they sweep this week. The top eight teams at the end of the season based on conference win percentage will make the LSC tournament.
 
NATIONALLY KNOWN
Lubbock Christian moved up in the national top-25 rankings this week, rising to No. 17 in the NABC poll. They stood pat at No. 21 in the D2CSC poll. Only one other Lone Star Conference team is in the polls, as DBU is ranked No. 10 by both the D2CSC and the NABC, but Midwestern State is also receiving votes, including being the first team out from the NABC. Lubbock Christian's early-season opponent Colorado School of Mines is also  in the polls at No. 5 in the NABC and No. 6 in the D2CSC. No. 17 is LCU's highest national ranking since early in the 2022-23 season, when they were ranked No. 16 in the NABC poll
 
REGIONALLY RECOGNIZED
The second NCAA regional rankings were released on Wednesday, with this week's list actually ranked 1-10. The Chaps came in at No. 3 this week with a 21-6 overall D-II record, including 19-6 in South Central Region play. The two teams above LCU are No. 1 Colorado School of Mines and No. 2 DBU, both teams the Chaps have beat this season. Other LSC teams under consideration include Midwestern State, St. Mary's, Eastern New Mexico, Angelo State and West Texas A&M. MSU Denver and Regis are the other two RMAC schools on the list.
 
ROAD JOURNAL
LCU is playing their last true road game of the season, boasting a 10-2 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 74.3 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 35.4 percent on the road. Opponents are scoring 66.0 points per game on 42 percent shooting. Duncan is the team's leading scorer in road games with an average of 17.1 points per game on 47.8 percent shooting. Amondo Miller Jr. and Sean Murphy are also averaging double-figures in road games.
 
THE SERIES WITH THE MUSTANGS
Lubbock Christian and Midwestern State have been meeting on the hard wood since the latter still used Indians as its mascot. In the all-time series, which started in 1972, MSU leads 27-16. In LCU's Division II era though, LCU has controlled the series, winning eight of the 10 matchups. One of the biggest wins in Chaparral basketball history came against Midwestern Stat in D.L. Ligon Coliseum in March of 2016. The Chaps, who made the NCAA Tournament in their first year of postseason eligibility, were the No. 8 seed taking on the host and No. 1 seed and No. 7 nationally-ranked Mustangs. LCU jumped out to a 16-point halftime lead and won the game 79-73 in overtime.
 
SCOUTING THE MUSTANGS

• Midwestern State has the lowest opponent field goal percentage in the LSC at 3.97 percent
• Head coach Justin Leslie is in his fifth season leading the Mustangs, going 84-77 in his time at the helm
• Junior Guard Mason Gibson leads the team in scoring, averaging 17.4 points per game on 49.8 percent shooting
• MSU has a rebounding margin of -0.8, which ranks 11^th in the LSC
• The Mustangs rank fifth in the conference in assists with an average of 15.27 per game