Midwestern State vs. Texas A&M-Kingsville
Wednesday, January 20, 2016 | 7:30 p.m.
D.L. Ligon Coliseum | Wichita Falls, Texas
Records: Midwestern State (15-1, 4-0); Texas A&M-Kingsville (9-6, 1-3)
Radio: ESPN 95.5 FM
Video: Mustangs Digital Network (PPV) 
Audio: Mustangs Digital Network (Free) 
Live Stats: MSUMustangs.com  
 
ON THE COURT
Red-hot Midwestern State takes on Texas A&M-Kingsville in a Lone Star Conference affair Wednesday night at D.L. Ligon Coliseum. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m.
 
FIVE THINGS TO KNOW
BEST START IN PROGRAM HISTORY... Midwestern State is step-for-step with the 2009-10 squad for the best start in program history. The Mustangs opened the 2009-10 season with 14 consecutive wins, lost at Angelo State then won the next seven games for a 21-1 mark on the way to MSU's first NCAA Division II Elite Eight showing. This season, Midwestern won its first three games and lost to Colorado State-Pueblo before starting its current 12-game winning streak.
ALONE AT THE TOP (OF THE LSC)... Midwestern State (4-0) is the early leader at the top of the Lone Star Conference with a one-game lead over Tarleton State (3-1). With a win over Texas A&M-Kingsville, the Mustangs would start LSC play 5-0 for just the fourth time since joining the league for the 1996-97 season. Midwestern claimed LSC titles after starting 6-0 in 2011-12 and 2012-13 and went 13-0 in a near sweep of the league in 1999-00.
HELLO WIN COLUMN... Midwestern State rides a 12-game winning streak into Wednesday's contest against Texas A&M-Kingsville. It's the 13th time in program history the Mustangs have won 12 consecutive games. The Mustangs can match the longest streak in the Nelson Haggerty era (since 2011-12) with a win over the Javelinas. Haggerty's Mustangs won 13 straight games from Nov. 11, 2011 to Jan. 11, 2012 -- his first 13 games as a head coach. MSU has won at least 11 consecutive games in four of Haggerty's five seasons at the helm.
TOP D2 WINNING STREAKS... Midwestern State boasts the fourth longest winning streak in NCAA Division II with 12 consecutive victories. Eckerd (Fla.) has won 15 straight while West Liberty (W. Va.) and Augustana (S.D.) own 14-game streaks.
3-BALL ON THE WAY... GOOD... The Mustangs are en fuego from the 3-point arc in Lone Star Conference play. The Mustangs have knocked down 48.6 percent of their shots from beyond the arc while shooting just 44 percent on 2-point attempts. MSU has recorded 10-or-more triples in six games this season.
 
SCOUTING THE JAVELINAS
- Texas A&M-Kingsville has dropped three of four games to start Lone Star Conference play, but was 8-3 heading into the Christmas break. The Hoggies own two wins over Heartland Conference leading Texas A&M International and defeated Colorado State-Pueblo during the fall semester.
- The Javelinas rely on strong defensive play holding the opposition to fewer than 70 points in 10 of 15 games this season. TAMUK ranks 18th in NCAA Division II 3-point field goal percentage defense (30.0), 22nd in scoring defense (66.8 points per game) and 47th in field goal percentage defense (41.4).
- Senior forward Troy Jones leads a trio of Hoggies averaging in double figures at 11.4 points per game while pulling down a team-high 6.5 rebounds. The 6-7, 230-pounder has scored in double digits 10 times this season.
- Senior guard D.J. Weathers scores 11.1 points per game while dishing out 2.4 assists a contest. The McLennan College transfer -- prior to last season -- boasts 10 double-figure outings including matching season highs of 18 against Eastern New Mexico and Texas A&M International.
- Senior guard Jamar Goodwin has scored in double figures in each of his last three outings to up his season average to 10.8 points per game. Goodwin is coming off of a 14-point, 7-rebound outing against Eastern New Mexico and a 16-point, 7-board effort against West Texas A&M.
- Johnny Estelle boasts a 17-25 record (.405) in his second season at the helm of his alma matter. Estelle guided Navarro College to a 126-48 mark and six straight Region XIV Tournament championship game appearances.
 
ABOUT THE SERIES
- Midwestern State and Texas A&M-Kingsville meet for the 44th time on the hardwood Wednesday night at D.L. Ligon Coliseum.
- The Mustangs command a 32-11 lead in the series which dates back to the 1976-77 season.
- MSU has won the last 16 games between the programs dating back to the 2008-09 season.
- Midwestern is 15-5 all-time against the Hoggies at D.L. Ligon Coliseum and have won seven straight dating back to an 82-72 loss to Texas A&M-Kingsville on Jan. 19, 2008.
- TAMUK's last win in the series came on Feb. 16, 2008 by a 78-63 margin in Kingsville.
 
MUSTANGS NOTEBOOK
- Midwestern State took sole possession of first place in the race for the Lone Star Conference championship with wins over No. 6 Tarleton State and Texas A&M-Commerce to move to 15-1 on the season and 4-0 in league play.
- The Mustangs matched the best start through 16 games in school history as the 2009-10 squad started 13-0 before losing a game then winning eight more to move to 21-1 on the way to the program's first Elite Eight appearance.
- MSU's 12-game winning streak is the fourth longest current streak in NCAA Division II behind Eckerd (Fla.) (16), West Liberty (W. Va.) (15) and Augustana (S.D.) (15).
- MSU's 12-game streak is the longest since the Mustangs won the first 13 games of the 2011-12 season.
- Midwestern has won at least 11 consecutive games in four of Nelson Haggerty's five seasons at the helm.
- MSU improved to 11-10 against nationally ranked opponents during the Nelson Haggerty era with a 66-63 win over Tarleton State Wednesday at D.L. Ligon Coliseum.
- The Mustangs are 2-0 against Top 10 teams this season and have won three of their last four against teams ranked in the NABC D2 Poll.
- MSU snapped Texas A&M-Commerce's 11-game home court winning streak Saturday at the A&M-C Fieldhouse.
- A&M-Commerce is 29-4 on its home floor since the start of the 2013-14 season with three of those losses coming to MSU.
- The Mustangs have now won 17 of their last 18 games against Texas A&M-Commerce dating back to the 2005-06 season.
- MSU has connected on at least 40 percent of its 3-point attempts in each of its last six games boasting 46.5-percent shooting from long range hitting 60 of 129.
- The Mustangs are shooting 48.6 percent from the arc during LSC play and 45.4 percent from the floor.
- Senior guard Bretson McNeal connected on seven 3-pointers in wins over Tarleton State and Texas A&M-Commerce last week and now connected on 48.8 percent of his 3s this season hitting 39-of-80 making 2.4 triples a game.
- Senior guard Brandon Golden scored in double figures for the sixth time this season connected on three 3-pointers to finish with 12 points and five rebounds against Texas A&M-Commerce.
- Junior guard Sheldon Hagigal matched a season high with three 3-pointers on his way to his seventh double-figure effort of the season with 13 points at Texas A&M-Commerce.
- Junior guard Pat Smith scored a career-high 11 points against Tarleton State then chipped in an all-around effort with eight points, three assists and three steals against Texas A&M-Commerce.
- Smith has logged 20 minutes in each of MSU's last four games after playing 20 minutes just three times in the previous 12.
- Junior forward Trevor Fuller swatted a season-high seven shots while scoring seven points in a campaign-high 31 minutes against Tarleton State.
- Senior forward Khapri Alston was limited to a season-low one point against Tarleton State but pulled down a season-high 14 rebounds.
- Alston narrowly missed his seventh double-double of the season against Texas A&M-Commerce finishing with 18 points and nine rebounds.
 
MSU IN THE POLLS
- Midwestern State moved ahead two spots to No. 4 in last week's National Association of Basketball Coaches' Division II Poll. It's the Mustangs' highest ranking since taking the No. 3 rating into the 2010 Elite Eight.
- The Mustangs remained at No. 2 for the second consecutive week in the D2 Media Poll with two first-place votes. MSU is just six votes back of No. 1 West Liberty (W. Va.) which received 10 first-place votes.
- New rankings are set for release Tuesday afternoon.
 
MUSTANGS IN THE NATIONAL STATISTICAL RANKINGS
TEAM RANKINGS
- Blocked Shots Per Game -- 2nd -- 6.3
- Field Goal Percentage Defense -- 3rd -- 37.4
- Total Blocks -- 3rd -- 101.0
- Scoring Margin -- 5th -- 18.3
- Rebound Margin -- 6th -- +9.3
- Defensive Rebounds Per Game -- 7th -- 30.5
- Three-Point Field Goal Percentage -- 16th -- 40.9
- Total Rebounds -- 19th -- 699.0
- Scoring Offense -- 30th -- 86.7
- Scoring Defense -- 30th -- 68.4
- Field Goal Percentage -- 32nd -- 48.9
INDIVIDUAL RANKINGS
- Total Blocks -- Trevor Fuller -- 8th -- 44.0
- Blocked Shots Per Game -- Trevor Fuller -- 9th -- 2.75
- Free Throw Percentage -- Jordan Stevens -- 10th -- 91.5
- Double-Doubles -- 29th -- Khapri Alston -- 6.0
- Offensive Rebounds Per Game -- Khapri Alston -- 29th -- 3.31
- Rebounds Per Game -- 34th -- Khapri Alston -- 9.3
 
THE HAGGERTY ERA
- Nelson Haggerty is in his fifth season at the helm for Midwestern State as one of the top young coaches in college basketball.
- Haggerty boasts a 112-31 mark (.783) leading the Mustangs to the NCAA Division II postseason in each of his campaigns at the helm and to  Lone Star Conference championships in each of his first three seasons as head coach.
- Haggerty earned NABC South Central Region and Lone Star Conference coach of the year honors in his rookie season of 2011-12 piloting the Mustangs to their third consecutive Elite Eight showing.
- With Haggerty on the bench (including two seasons as top assistant), MSU has advanced to three Elite Eights (2010, 2011, 2012) and to the NCAA Division II postseason six consecutive years.
 
NEXT TIME OUT
Midwestern State hits the road to take on Angelo State Saturday afternoon at Junell Center/Stephens Arena. Tipoff is set for 4 p.m.