The old formula for success in sports is said to be to win half your games on the road and all of them at home.
If that's the case, the time is now for Midwestern State.
Including tonight's game at Eastern New Mexico, the Mustangs remaining slate features four games at D.L. Ligon Coliseum and three on the road.
That means to gain the edge outside of Wichita Falls, MSU must beat the Greyhounds and fight for victories at West Texas A&M and Abilene Christian to wrangle a 4-3 road conference mark.
The Mustangs, who have won 39 consecutive games, retain home dates with Incarnate Word, Texas A&M-Kingsville, Tarleton State and Angelo State.
MSU continued a trend in Saturday night's 68-56 setback at Tarleton State as the Texans owned a convincing 31-24 edge on the glass.
Of the Mustangs' five losses, they have been outrebounded in four of them. Midwestern is 14-1 in games that it wins the battle on the boards.
Junior forward David Terrell has come on strong over the last two games.
The LSC field goal percentage leader (62.3 percent) was a perfect 7-for-7 for a team-high 14 points in Saturday's loss at Tarleton State. That performance came on the heels of an 11-point, five-rebound effort against West Texas A&M.
Terrell is averaging 7.7 points and 5.6 rebounds a game.
MSU is experiencing statistical oddities this season as the Mustangs get to the line significantly fewer times than all but one team in the LSC South Division yet find a way to lead the conference with a 50 percent team field percentage
The Mustangs (19.0 FTA per game) rank behind Abilene Christian (26.9 FTA/G), Angelo State (26.0), West Texas A&M (24.7), Incarnate Word (24.1), Tarleton State (24.1) and Eastern New Mexico (20.5) while Texas A&M-Kingsville shoots 17.6 charity tosses a contest.
Are the Mustangs a perimeter team? Hardly, MSU averages 37.8 points in the paint a game while allowing 21.9.
Interestingly, MSU's opponents have shot 181 more free throws this season and have made just 16 fewer (384) than the Mustangs have attempted (400).
