Midwestern State (4-10, 1-3) at #8 UT Permian Basin (11-1, 4-0)
Lone Star Conference game
Saturday, Jan. 6, 2018 | 4 p.m.
Falcon Dome | Odessa, Texas
Live Stats: UTPBFalcons.com |
Radio: ESPN 95.5 FM |
Audio: Mustangs Digital Network |
Video: UTPBFalcons.com
MUSTANGS NOTES
- Midwestern State takes on its second nationally ranked opponent on the road this week Saturday afternoon against No. 8 UT Permian Basin in Odessa.
- The Mustangs are currently locked in a three-way tie with Cameron and Eastern New Mexico for seventh place in the Lone Star Conference standings. All three are 1-4 in league play.
- Midwestern State is 39-60 (.394) all time against nationally ranked opposition, but is 15-17 (.469) with Nelson Haggerty at the helm. The Mustangs, however, has dropped its last four against nationally ranked foes and six of the last seven. MSU has lost its last five against nationally ranked opponents on the road dating back to a 78-76 victory at No. 10 Tarleton State on Jan. 14, 2015.
- Midwestern State leads the Lone Star Conference and ranks 22nd in NCAA Division II by forcing 17.29 turnovers per game and also tops the LSC in team steals per game with 9.0.
- MSU is second in the league in turnover margin at +3.00.
- The Mustangs average 20.4 points off of turnovers per game accounting for 25.4 percent of their total output.
- Midwestern tops the Lone Star Conference in offensive rebounds per game (12.79) while averaging 15.8 second-chance points a contest.
- Midwestern is fourth in the league in scoring at 80.4 points per game, but 10th in scoring defense allowing 85.0 points a game.
- MSU ranks 101st in NCAA D2 in scoring at 80.4 points per game. The Mustangs have scored 80-or-more points in eight games this season.
- The Mustangs lead the LSC and 54th in NCAA D2 with a 74.5 team free throw percentage.
- MSU has held a lead in 13 of its 14 games this season. The Mustangs are 2-4 in games in which they held a lead of at least 10-or-more points this season.
- Senior guard Brandon Neel ranks fifth in the LSC and 133rd in NCAA Division II in scoring at 17.5 points per game.
- Neel boasts 11 games with at least 10 points this season four games of 20-or-more. He poured in a season-high 30 points at Western State (Colo.), had 27 versus Southwestern Assemblies of God and 26 against Colorado Mesa. He poured in a team-high 24 points in MSU's win over Rollins on Dec. 18th.
- Neel tops MSU and is 11th in the LSC pulling down 6.1 rebounds per game.
- Neel notched his second double-double of the season scoring 19 points and pulling down 11 rebounds in a win at Texas A&M-Kingsville (12/30).
- Senior guard Devante Pullum ranks second in the LSC 4.8 assists per game and is fourth in steals per game with 1.7. The Little Elm High product has scored in double figures in six consecutive games from Nov. 24th-Dec. 18th including a campaign-best 26-point, 6-assists effort at Angelo State.
- Pullum is averaging 15.0 points, 5.1 assists and 1.6 steals per game over his last nine outings while shooting 48.5 percent from the field (47-of-97) to bring his season scoring average to 12.5 points per game.
- Pullum ranks fourth in the LSC and 77th in NCAA D2 in free throw percentage at 86.0 percent (43-of-50). He has made 14 of his last 15 from the charity stripe over the last four games. He is shooting 87.1 percent from the line (27-of-31) over his last nine games.
- Pullum rates fourth in the Lone Star Conference during league play averaging 18.0 points per game – just one spot above brother Devin, who is scoring 17.2 point per game during LSC play as a freshman at Eastern New Mexico.
- Pullum's two best scoring games have come during conference play scoring 26 at Angelo State (12/7) and 24 at West Texas A&M (1/4).
- Sophomore guard Logan Hicks ranks third on the team in scoring at 11.4 points per game notching double-figures in each of MSU's first seven games this season. He had a season-high 19 points in the opener against Arkansas-Fort Smith. He is shooting 39.2 percent from the field and 34.7 percent from the arc (26-for-75).
- Senior guard Trey Kennedy scores 10.0 points per game notching 10-or-more points in seven games including a season-best 25 points on 11-of-25 shooting against Western State on Nov. 18th. He put up performances of 17 points against Saint Leo and 14 versus Florida Southern at the Florida Southern Thanksgiving Classic.
- Senior forward Nick Powell has scored at least eight points in eight games this season and is averaging 8.0 points and 4.6 rebounds in 22.6 minutes per game.
- Powell buried his first five 3-pointers against Texas A&M-Commerce on Dec. 2nd to finish with a season-high 17 points and also grabbed seven rebounds.
- Powell connected on at least one triple in each in a five-game stretch (Nov. 30th-Dec. 19th) while shooting 11-of-20 (55 percent) from beyond the arc during the stretch before going 0-for-2 at Texas A&M-Kingsville.
- Senior forward Josh Huntley has scored in double figures five times this season including matching season bests of 16 against Western State (11/18) and Southern Indiana (12/19). He notched his lone double-double of the campaign with 10 points and 10 rebounds against Southwestern Assemblies of God (11/21).
- Junior forward Wanaah Bail poured in a season-high 18 points shooting a perfect 5-of-5 from the field while going 7-for-8 at the free throw line at Angelo State on Dec. 7th. He needed just 18 minutes of floor time to score 12 points on 3-of-4 shooting going 6-of-7 from the charity while pulling down five rebounds at Texas A&M-Kingsville (12/30).
- Sophomore guard Romello Walker has missed the last six games due to injury. Despite averaging 5.0 points and 2.1 rebounds per game, he possesses the top +/- statistics for MSU. The Mustangs have outscored the opposition by a total of 34 points in Walker's 85 minutes of court time for a +4.86 points per game average.
VERSUS UT PERMIAN BASIN
- Midwestern State and UT Permian Basin meet for the seventh time on the hardwood Saturday afternoon at the Falcon Dome in Odessa.
- Each team has won three games in the series which dates back to the 2007-08 season.
- The Mustangs overcame a 20-point deficit in the first half last season to claim an 80-73 win over UTPB on Jan. 7, 2017 in Wichita Falls. The Falcons rallied to win the rematch (92-85) in Odessa on Feb. 9th before knocking MSU out of the LSC Postseason Tournament in the opening round (81-70) on March 2nd in Allen.
- UT Permian Basin have won both of the previous meetings between the teams in Odessa which also includes an 82-73 on Dec. 1, 2008.
- UT Permian Basin is 7-0 on its home floor this season and is 19-1 since the start of the 2016-17 campaign with its lone loss coming to Cameron (90-87) on Feb. 11, 2017.
- The Falcons ride an 8-game winning streak into Saturday's matchup with MSU dropping its only game of the season at Dallas Baptist (87-80) on Nov. 18th.
- UT Permian boasts the LSC's top scoring offense ranking 11th in NCAA D2 scoring 91.2 points per game.
- The Falcons also lead the league in defensive rebounds per game (31.75 / 5th in D2), rebound margin (+11.1 / 6th in D2), team field goal percentage (50.4 / 15th in D2) and assists per game (17.8 / 26th in D2).
- Senior guard Daeshon Francis ranks second in the LSC and 39th in NCAA D2 in scoring pouring in 20.9 points per game. He has scored 20-or-more points in five games this season including a season high of 36 against Adams State (11/11). Francis is coming off of a 24-point effort in Thursday's win over Cameron.
- Senior guard James McPherson is UTPB's second leading scorer with 17.8 points per game. He ranks second in the LSC and 19th in NCAA D2 connected on 3.25 3-pointers per game. He is shooting 39.8 percent from beyond the arc (39-of-98) this season.
- Senior forward Josh Morris averages 13.3 points and 6.7 rebounds a game. He ranks second in NCAA Division II in field goal percentage hitting 75.3 percent of his shots from the field.
- Senior guard Sammy Allen boasts a double-double average of 11 points and 12.2 rebounds per game. He is the nation's fourth best overall rebounder and leads D2 with 9.92 defensive rebounds a contest.
-- MSUMustangs.com --
