MIDWESTERN STATE vs. #11 WEST TEXAS A&M
Thursday, Jan. 5, 2017 | 7:30 p.m.
D.L. Ligon Coliseum | Wichita Falls, Texas
Records: Midwestern State (8-4, 1-3); West Texas A&M (15-1, 3-0)
Radio: ESPN 95.5 FM
Watch: Mustangs Digital Network 
Listen: Mustangs Digital Network 
Live Stats: MSUMustangs.com   
 
MIDWESTERN STATE vs. UT-PERMIAN BASIN
Saturday, Jan. 7, 2017 | 4 p.m.
D.L. Ligon Coliseum | Wichita Falls, Texas
Records: Midwestern State (8-4, 1-3); UT-Permian Basin (10-2, 2-1)
Radio: ESPN 95.5 FM
Watch: Mustangs Digital Network 
Listen: Mustangs Digital Network 
Live Stats: MSUMustangs.com   
 
ON THE COURT
Midwestern State welcomes the two highest scoring teams in the Lone Star Conference to D.L. Ligon Coliseum. The Mustangs take on No. 11 West Texas A&M (89.9 ppg) Thursday night at 7:30 p.m. before hosting UT-Permian Basin (96.1 ppg) Saturday afternoon at 4.
 
FIVE THINGS TO KNOW
1- UT-Permian Basin and West Texas A&M bring the top two scoring offense into Wichita Falls. UTPB tops the league and ranks sixth in NCAA Division II scoring 96.1 points per game, while the Buffs are second in the LSC and 19th nationally.
2- Midwestern State is 1-2 against nationally ranked opponents this season. The Mustangs defeated No. 23 Arkansas-Fort Smith (83-80/OT) earlier this season before falling at No. 16 Tarleton State (64-56) and to No. 11 Angelo State (75-72).
3- As head coach, Nelson Haggerty is 14-13 against nationally ranked opponents claiming nine wins over teams ranked in the top 15.
4- At 35-31, West Texas A&M is one of seven programs with a series of longer than 10 games to hold an edge on Midwestern State.
5- Midwestern State closes out the longest home stand of the season with games against West Texas A&M and UT-Permian Basin this weekend. The Mustangs are 4-2 under the dome this season.
 
ABOUT THE MUSTANGS

TEAM NOTES
* Midwestern State plays for the first time in 17 days Thursday night against West Texas A&M. The Mustangs defeated Texas A&M-Kingsville (73-68) on Dec. 19 at D.L. Ligon Coliseum.
* The Mustangs rank 11th in NCAA Division II in field goal percentage defense holding the opposition to 38.7 percent from the floor. MSU has held its last two opponents to under 33 percent and limited the opposition to 40 percent or lower in eight of 12 games this season.
* MSU is 14th nationally forcing 18.42 turnovers per game. The opposition has committed 20-or-more miscues six times this season against the Mustangs.
* The Mustangs have struggled offensively during Lone Star Conference play shooting 36.4 percent as a team from the floor while averaging 13 points below their overall season average scoring 65.5 points per game. The Mustangs are shooting 23.3 percent from the arc during league play.
* MSU has suffered through much adversity before and during the 2016-17 campaign. Senior-to-be Trevor Fuller, the 2015-16 LSC Defensive Player of the Year, left the team due to personal issues prior to the season. Senior guard Sheldon Hagigal (12.6 ppg) was dismissed for disciplinary reasons. Freshman guard Logan Hicks (10.0 ppg) suffered a torn Achilles in the eighth game of the season at Tarleton State.

PLAYER NOTES
#0- Senior guard Brandon Neel has scored in double figures in each of his last six games while also becoming a rebounding force. The 6-4, 195-pound guard is averaging 14.3 points and 7.2 rebounds in 30.2 minutes per game during the stretch. He is coming off of a season-high 19-point, 7-rebound effort against Texas A&M-Kingsville.
#3- Junior guard Devante Pullum scored in double figures for the fourth time this season the last time out finishing with 14 points, five rebounds and five assists against Texas A&M-Kingsville. Pullum has dished out at least five assists in each of his last three games and ranks fifth in the LSC handing out 4.1 helpers per game.
#4- Junior guard Shawn Nottingham did not score in 14 minutes against Texas A&M-Kingsville, but nearly notched a triple double with seven points, nine rebounds and eight assists against St. Gregory's (Okla.) on Dec. 16.
#10- Senior guard Pat Smith has scored in double figures seven times in a breakout senior campaign. He averages 10.2 points, 3.8 rebounds and 3.0 assists in 29.6 minutes per game.
#14- Junior guard De'Quaan Haggerty has appeared in four games this season hitting a 3-pointer against St. Gregory's (Okla.).
#24- Sophomore forward Nemanja Krtolica ranks third on the team with 5.1 rebounds per game. He collected at least seven caroms in five games with a season high of 12 against Our Lady of the Lake (Texas). He is shooting 69 percent from the field.
#32- Senior forward Magnus Richards picked up production since the start of league play. He is averaging 11 points and six rebounds while swatting 12 shots over the last five games.
#33- Junior forward Igor Ibaka is working on a string of four straight double figure scoring games and has double-doubles in each of his last three outings.
#35- Junior forward Nick Powell poured in a career-high 20 points and pulled down eight rebounds in 23 minutes against St. Gregory's then followed it up with eight points and five rebounds in 17 minutes the last time out against Texas A&M-Kingsville.
 
SCOUTING THE BUFFS
* West Texas A&M moved up eight spots to No. 11 in latest National Association of Basketball Coaches' Division II Poll released earlier this week.
* At 15-1, the Buffs are off to their best start since achieving the same record in 1997-98. WT claimed the South Central Region title that season before falling in the Elite Eight to California-Davis.
* West Texas A&M has reeled off 10 consecutive wins since taking its lone loss of the season by a 95-86 score at Lubbock Christian on Nov. 17.
* The Buffs shot selection includes a 45-percent dose from 3-point range. WT ranks second in NCAA Division II in both 3-point makes (162) and attempts (448), but also leads the nation in made free throws (332) and attempts (461).
* LSC Preseason Player of the Year David Chavlovich pours in 20.3 points while connecting on three triples per game. He has been on torrid clip over the last five games scoring 25 points per game while 20 3-pointers while shooting 44 percent from beyond the arc.
* Chavlovich is the reigning LSC Offensive Player of the Week going for a career-high 36 points last time out against Oklahoma City.
* Junior guard Jordan Evans pitches in 13.7 points per game while shooting 40.2 percent from 3-point range. He has netted double figures in 12 of 15 games this season.
* Junior guard Jerrod Walton (9.9 ppg), sophomore guard Carl White (9.5 ppg), senior guard Joseph Prince (9.4 ppg), senior guard Eric Golightly (7.9 ppg), sophomore guard Ryan Quaid (7.2 ppg) and senior center Skyler O'Laughlin (7.1 ppg) give the Buffs eight scoring options averaging better than seven points per game.
* Tom Brown boasts a 53-23 mark (.697) in his third season at his first collegiate head coaching job at West Texas A&M. Previously, he was part of Mike Leaf's staff at Winona State from 1998-2014 which claimed national championships in 2006 and 2008.
 
ABOUT THE SERIES
* Midwestern State meets West Texas A&M for the 66th time on the hardwood Thursday night at D.L. Ligon Coliseum.
* WT leads the series which dates back to the 1947-48 season by a 35-31 margin, but MSU has won eight of 10 meetings with the Buffs during the Nelson Haggerty era (since the start of the 2011-12 season).
* The Mustangs are 17-5 against the Buffs all time at D.L. Ligon Coliseum and have won the last eight under the dome. WT's last win in Wichita Falls came by an 86-83 margin on Feb. 13, 2008.
* MSU swept the season series in 2015-16.
 
SCOUTING THE FALCONS
* UT-Permian Basin (10-2) is off to its best start since joining NCAA Division II for the start of the 2006-07 season. The Falcons are in the first year as a member of the Lone Star Conference.
* UTPB start the season with six consecutive wins and have taken losses to Southeastern Oklahoma and West Texas A&M. The upstart Falcons are 6-2 against NCAA Division II competition.
* Bolstered by four 100-point effort against non-Division II competition, UT-Permian Basin ranks sixth in NCAA Division II scoring 96.1 points per game. The Falcons have scored at least 90 points in nine games this season.
* The Falcons rank fourth nationally in rebound margin at +12.1.
* UT-Permian Basin boasts two of the top five scorers in the Lone Star Conference as junior guard Daeshon Francis pours in 19.8 points per game, while senior guard Johnnie Lacy tallies 17.7 points a contest.
* Francis has scored in double figures in 11 of 12 games this season including six games of 20 or more. He also pulls down 8.2 rebounds and dishes out 3.2 assists per game.
* Lacy has scored 20-or-more points in five games while dishing out 3.9 assists per game.
* Junior guard James McPherson (12.8 ppg) and junior forward Josh Morris (10.8 ppg, 5.2 rpg) also score in double figures for UTPB.
* The Falcons roster features players from 12 different states and another from London.
* Andy Newman boasts a 58-39 (.598) mark in his fifth season at the helm of the UT-Permian Basin men's basketball program. Newman spent the previous 10 seasons as an assist at Cal State-Fullerton going 14-18 as the Titans' interim head coach in 2012-13.
 
ABOUT THE SERIES
* Midwestern State meets UT-Permian Basin for the fourth time on the hardwood Saturday afternoon at D.L. Ligon Coliseum.
* The Mustangs own a 2-1 edge in the series which dates back to the 2007-08 season.
* MSU claimed victories in both games in Wichita Falls winning 89-61 on Nov. 20, 2007 and 67-60 on Dec. 30, 2008. UTPB defeated MSU 83-72 in the lone game played in Odessa on Dec. 1, 2008.
 
THE HAGGERTY ERA
* Nelson Haggerty is in his sixth season at the helm for Midwestern State as one of the top young coaches in college basketball.
* Haggerty boasts a 128-40 mark (.762) leading the Mustangs to the NCAA Division II postseason in each of his campaigns at the helm and to  Lone Star Conference championships in four of his five 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. He repeated as LSC Coach of the Year while piloting the Mustangs to their fourth LSC title in his five seasons at head coach in 2016.
* 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.
 
UP NEXT
Midwestern State hits the road for a pair of Lone Star Conference games next week beginning Thursday at Western New Mexico (8:30 p.m. Central) and Saturday at Eastern New Mexico (5 p.m. Central).