NO. 23 LUBBOCK CHRISTIAN (2-1) vs.
MSU-DENVER (0-0)
Friday, November 13 – 5 p.m. MT / 7 p.m. CT
Lockridge Arena – Golden, Colorado
 
TIPOFF
Division II basketball season officially begins this week across the country after various tipoff classics were played the last two weekends. Lubbock Christian University played in one of those events, going 2-1 at the D2CCAA Tipoff Classic in Ellensburg, Washington, before taking a week off. They now return to action against a pair of teams who have not been in action yet this season, taking on MSU-Denver and Colorado School of Mines in the LSC/RMAC Challenge. Both games will be hosted by Mines at Lockridge Arena in Golden, Colorado.
 
AWARD CENTRAL
Lubbock Christian freshman guard DeAndre Lott was named the Lone Star Conference Defensive Player of the Week for the first week of the season. Lott helped the Chaparrals to a 2-1 start at the D2CCAA Tipoff Classic, earning wins against MSU-Billings and Western Washington. The Indiana native led the team with both five blocks and seven steals, while pulling down 11 rebounds, nine of which came on the defensive glass. He also led the team on offense, scoring 16.7 points per game, including 20 in the season-opener against the YellowJackets. He shot 50 percent from the field and was an extremely efficient 20-26 at the free throw line.
 
MAKING WAVES
Chaparral head coach Todd Duncan was named one of the Top 50 Most Impactful Division II Head Coach by Silver Waves Media, the organization announced on Wednesday. Silver Waves Media is a global resource for athletes, coaches administrators and sports enthusiasts everywhere, and a team of researchers and a committee of professionals picked the Top 50 list. Duncan is in his 16th season leading the men's basketball program. He currently boasts an all-time record fo 289-150 and has led the team to eight NCAA South Central Regional appearances overall, including each of the last six years.
 
NATIONALLY KNOWN
Lubbock Christian is ranked No. 23 in the National Association of Basketball Coaches preseason poll, which is the only one that has been released so far this season. The Chaparrals spent every week of the 2025-26 season in the national rankings, reaching as high as No. 4 and ending the season at No. 14. Nova Southeastern is the No. 1 team in the nation entering the year, with defending national champion Gannon at No. 3. Two other LSC teams are in the poll, including Dallas Baptist at No. 5 and Eastern New Mexico at No. 16. LCU was also receiving votes in the FloCollege D2 Men's Basketball Preseason Poll.
 
GUESS WHO'S BACK
The Chaps return just three players from last year's NCAA Tournament team, including Leo Nordberg, Reagan Fiedler and Jett McCasland. Nordberg played in all 33 games last year, starting 16 times. He averaged 4.8 points per game and dished out exactly 100 assists. Fielder played in 24 games, shooting 44.7 percent from the field before his season was cut short due to injury. McCasland, who was a freshman last year, saw limited playing time off the bench, but shot 41.2 percent from behind the arc and scored in double-figures twice.
 
FRESH FACES
The other 10 players on the team are all brand new to LCU. Six of those newbies are transfers and four are freshmen. The transfer class includes four players who previously played at other Division II schools. Dallas Jones came to the Chaps from Anderson. Rylan Houck transferred from Carson-Newman, but previously played at Division I Lipscomb. Both Brendan Ballard and Hayden Abdullah actually played against the Chaps in games last year, transferring from West Texas A&M and West Liberty, respectively. The other two transfers – Charlie Onana and Devin Whitten – came from junior colleges. The freshman class includes Luke Modersohn, Tookie Johnson, DeAndre Lott and Jonathan Lungeni.
 
LOOKING BACK
Lubbock Christian finished the 2025-26 season with a 27-6 overall record, matching the program record for wins in a season. The Chaps posted a 17-3 league record, finishing third in the conference. For the second-straight season, the LSC Player of the Year was a Chap, as Amondo Miller Jr. claimed the award. He was also named the South Central Region Player of the Year and an NABC All-American. LCU also had the league's Newcomer of the Year in Antonio Pusateri, along with two other All-Conference selections. The Chaps reached the NCAA postseason for the eighth time in program history and sixth straight season.
 
THE SERIES WITH THE ROADRUNNERS
This is the first time Lubbock Christian and MSU-Denver have met in the former's NCAA Era.
 
THE SERIES WITH THE OREDIGGERS
Lubbock Christian and Colorado School of Mines have faced off quite often since the Chaps moved to the NCAA, playing 11 times since the all-time series began in 2015. The series has been almost evenly split, with LCU winning five times against six wins for Mines. Only three of the all-time matchups have been played at Lockridge Arena, with the Chaps going 1-2 in those contests. LCU won last year's meeting in the Rip Griffin Center behind a double-double from Antonio Pusateri.