Top Two Southland Men's Basketball Teams Meet Wednesday in Arlington

Top Two Southland Men's Basketball Teams Meet Wednesday in Arlington

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FRISCO, Texas - When UT Arlington meets UTSA Wednesday at the new College Park Center, it is not just the first game at the Mavericks' new 7,000-seat arena, it's a matchup of the top two teams in the Southland Conference. UT Arlington has won a school-record 11 consecutive games, including all seven league games, to move to 15-5 overall. The Roadrunners sit just one game behind the Mavericks in the West Division standings at 6-1 and are 14-7 overall. Since losing a one-point game at home to Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, UTSA has won five consecutive games, including four in Southland play. The two meet Wednesday at 8 p.m., Central.

Other games Wednesday include divisional games Northwestern State at Central Arkansas, Lamar at Southeastern Louisiana and Texas State at Stephen F. Austin as well as a pair of cross-divisional games Texas A&M-Corpus Christi at Nicholls State, McNeese State at Sam Houston State. All six games this weekend will pit teams from opposing divisions. On Saturday, UTSA is at Lamar, A&M-Corpus Christi is at Northwestern State, Texas State visits Nicholls State, UT Arlington is at Central Arkansas and Sam Houston State. Stephen F. Austin is at McNeese State on Sunday.
 
UT Arlington Now 19th in Mid-Major Poll
UT Arlington remained No. 19 in this week's collegeinsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 poll, two weeks after its poll debut at No. 25. The Mavericks are 15-5 overall and 7-0 in league play and take an 11-game win streak into its game Wednesday against UTSA. UT Arlington's current win streak is the longest school history. The win streak is also tied for seventh longest in the nation. UTA, which is No. 93 in the USA Today Sagarin rankings, is joined in this week's mid-major poll by UTSA, which received five votes.
 
Two Southland Teams Draw Appearances on ESPN3 in Sears BracketBusters
All 12 Southland Conference teams will play in this year's Sears BracketBusters event Feb. 18, including UT Arlington and Lamar, which will play their games on ESPN3. The 15-5 Mavericks visit Weber State at 7 p.m., Central, while the Cardinals visit George Mason earlier in the day at 3 p.m., Central. UT Arlington's game against Weber State (16-4, 8-1), the co-leader of the Big Sky Conference, was selected by ESPN as one of 13 BracketBusters games to appear on its networks, while the Southland Conference and the Colonial Athletic Association will go produce the Lamar-George Mason game for the network's streaming product. Lamar is 13-8 overall and 4-3 in the Southland. The Patriots are 18-5 and lead the CAA with a 10-1 record.
 
Southland BracketBusters Games - Feb. 18
Toledo at Sam Houston St., 2 p.m.
Lamar at George Mason, 3 p.m. (ESPN3)
Southeast Missouri St. at McNeese St., 3 p.m.
Central Arkansas at Louisiana Tech, 3:30 p.m.
IUPUI at Nicholls St., 3:30 p.m.
Campbell at Northwestern St., 4 p.m.
Tennessee-Martin at Southeastern La., 6 p.m.
High Point at Stephen F. Austin, 6 p.m.
UTSA at Georgia St., 6 p.m.
A&M-Corpus Christi at Central Michigan, 6 p.m.
UT Arlington at Weber State, 7 p.m. (ESPN3)
Texas State at South Dakota, 7 p.m.
 
Southland History in BracketBusters
Three Southland Conference teams have previously participated in four BracketBusters games. Northwestern State has played in two BracketBusters matchups and rode its first appearance in 2006 at Utah State to a first-round upset over Iowa in the NCAA tournament. The Demons also met Tennessee Tech in a BracketBusters game. Stephen F. Austin also played in 2006 and Sam Houston State played in 2007. While the conference is winless in its four previous BracketBusters games, which have all been played on the road, the league won all four of the guaranteed return games the next year.
 
All-Tournament Passes Now on Sale
Tickets for the 2012 Southland Conference Men's and Women's Basketball Tournament, which will be held March 6-10, at the Leonard E. Merrell Center in Katy, Texas, are now on sale. Reserved all-tournament passes are available for $75, while general admission all-tournament passes are available for $60. All-tournament passes are available at any Ticketmaster location or online at Ticketmaster.com. Tickets for each session of the tournament will not go on sale until Monday, March 5. A reserved ticket for each session is $18, while a general admission ticket is $13. Tickets to each championship game are $15 for a reserved ticket or $10 for general admission. Fans interested in purchasing individual session or championship game tickets, must wait until March 5 when tickets will be available at all Ticketmaster locations, the Ticketmaster website or at the Merrell Center box office.
 
Mosley Named League Player of the Week
Northwestern State William Mosley has been named the Southland Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Week after he averaged 16 points, 10 rebounds, 5.5 blocks, 1.5 assists, 1.5 steals while shooting 67 percent from the field in the Demons' wins over Lamar and Southeastern Louisiana last week. The senior from Shreveport, La., recorded his ninth double-double of the season last Saturday. Mosley now ranks 17th in NCAA history with 421 career blocked shots. At 6-foot-7, he is the shortest person in the top 20. Northwestern State held Lamar and Southeastern to a combined 30.5 percent (40 of 131) shooting aim and 110 combined points. Southeastern did not score in the game's last 9:15 Saturday as the Demons won 55-38, holding the Lions to the lowest point total by an Northwestern foe since 1971.
 
Mosley Earns State, National Honors
Northwestern State senior center William Mosley was named the national Mid-Major Player of the Week by College Sports Madness on Monday, along with capturing the Southland Conference Player of the Week award and sharing the Louisiana Player of the Week honor. Mosley averaged 16 points, 10 rebounds, 5.5 blocks, 1.5 assists, 1.5 steals while shooting 67 percent from the field in the Demons' wins over Lamar and Southeastern Louisiana last week. His activity keyed a defense which held Lamar and SLU to a combined 30.5 percent (40-131) shooting aim and 110 combined points. Southeastern did not score in the game's last 9:15 Saturday as the Demons won 55-38, holding the Lions to the lowest point total by an NSU foe since 1971.
 
Other Notable Performances Last Week

  • Central Arkansas guard LaQuentin Miles, the No. 2 scorer in the Southland Conference, scored 26 points and grabbed nine rebounds in a 75-71 overtime loss at Southeastern Louisiana and followed with 16 points and six rebounds at McNeese State. He averaged 21 points, 7.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 2.0 steals between the two games last week.
  • Lamar guard Mike James posted his eighth 20-point game of the season with a game-high 21 points in Lamar's 80-56 win over Nicholls State. He also matched his career high with seven assist against the Colonels. He scored the Cardinals' leading scorer in the loss at Northwestern State with 18 points.
  • McNeese State guard Jeremie Mitchell averaged 15.5 points in leading the Cowboys to wins over Nicholls State and Central Arkansas. He made 52.6 percent of his field goals (10 of 19) and was 7 of 13 from 3-point range. In a 20-point game against the Bears, Mitchell was 6 of 8 from the floor, including 4 of 4 from long distance.
  • Southeastern Louisiana center Elgin Bailey helped the Lions to their third overtime victory of the season, scoring a career-high 16 points, including a game-tying tip-in with 1.8 second left in their 75-71 win over Central Arkansas. He scored 14 points in the second half as he made 7 of 10 shots from the floor and grabbed four rebounds. He scored a a team-high 12 points and grabbed six rebounds at Northwestern State.
  • Stephen F. Austin center Jereal Scott helped the Lumberjacks to a pair of wins over Sam Houston State and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. He scored 15 points, grabbed six rebounds and blocked two shots in the 67-66 win over Sam Houston, hitting the game-winning free throws in the final minute of overtime. He scored 13 points to go with nine rebounds in a road win over the Islanders last Saturday.
  • UTSA guard Melvin Johnson III averaged 20.5 points and shot 55.2 percent (16 of 29) in two wins last week to help the Roadrunners run their win streak to five games. He scored 23 points in a non-conference win over Jarvis Christian and the scored 18 points against Sam Houston State. He made seven 3-pointers in the two games.
  • Texas A&M-Corpus Christi guard Terence Jones averaged 26.5 points in splitting a pair of games last week against Texas State and Stephen F. Austin. He tallied a career-best 33 points against the Bobcats, which is the most points scored in a game by a player in the Southland this season. He scored 20 of the Islanders' 49 points against SFA and made 9 of 18 shots in each game, going 13 of 16 from the foul line. His 33 points are the most by an Islander since Kevin Palmer scored 35 against UT Arlington in the 2008 conference tournament.

 
Southland in the National Stats

  • Northwestern State ranks fifth with 6.9 blocked shots per game. The Demons have 124 blocks in 19 games. Kentucky is the national leader, averaging 9.3 blocks per game. Center Will Mosley ranks second with 4.3 blocks per game. Kentucky's Anthony Davis is the national leader (4.6).
  • Stephen F. Austin ranks sixth in Division I in scoring defense, limiting opponents to 54.9 points per game. Wisconsin is the national leader, limiting opponents to an average of 49.6 points per contest.
  • UTSA is ranked sixth nationally with its 41.3 3-point field-goal percentage. Creighton is the national leader with its 44.9 percentage from long range.
  • Northwestern State ranks ninth nationally in steals per game, averaging 9.3 thefts per game. Lamar (8.7) ranks 22nd and UTSA (8.7) ranks 25th. Syracuse is the national leader with 10.3 swipes a game. Central Arkansas's LaQuentin Miles ranks 24th nationally, averaging 2.4 per game.
  • UTSA ranks 12th with a free-throw percentage of 76.1. Weber State is the Division I leader, shooting 79.9 percent from the charity stripe.
  • UTSA makes an average of 8.7 three-pointers per game, which has the Roadrunners ranked 13th in Division I. Florida leads the nation, averaging 10.6 three-pointers per game.
  • Stephen F. Austin ranks 13th in rebound margin, out-rebounding opponents by 7.5 boards per contest. North Carolina is the national leader with an advantage of 11.7 rebounds per game.
  • Southeastern Louisiana leads the Southland and ranks 14th nationally in 3-point field goal defense, limiting opponents to 28.9 percent from behind the 3-point arc. McNeese State ranks 24th nationally in the category and holds its opponents to 29.5 percent shooting from long range. Drexel is the national leader (24.8).
  • Texas State has the 17th highest scoring offense in Division I, averaging 79.1 points per game. UT Arlington ranks 25th in scoring offense, averaging 77.7 points per game. North Carolina is the national leader with an average of 84.9 points per game.

 
Toyota Game of the Week Returns Feb. 8
The Southland Conference Television Network will televise the women's basketball game between Central Akransas and Northwestern State this Wednesday, but will return to men's action Feb. 8 when UT Arlington visits Sam Houston State. Lincoln Rose will handle play-by-play duties, while Van Chancellor will serve as the color analyst. Chris Mycoskie, the Southland's director of television, will host the Toyota Halftime Report. This is the fourth season for the network to televise basketball games. The award-winning network will televise a total of 15 basketball games this season, including nine men's basketball contests.
 
SLC NOW to Stream Games for Free
All 15 basketball games that will be televised by the Southland Conference Television Network this season will be streamed for free on SLC NOW, the conference's live and on-demand streaming video and audio platform on its website, Southland.org. Fans will need to register for the site, but all content will be available for free throughout the 2011-12 academic year.
 
Katy Remains the Goal for Fifth Year
The 2012 Southland Conference Basketball Tournament returns to the Leonard E. Merrell Center in Katy, Texas. This will be the fifth consecutive year for the tournament to be held in Katy. This year's tournament will begin on Wednesday, March 7 with quarterfinal action begin at noon. The semifinals, which will be televised by the Southland Conference Television Network, will take place on Thursday, March 8 and the championship game will be played Saturday, March 10 with a 2 p.m. tipoff and be televised by ESPN2. The 2011-12 tournament will be the 13th in league history to be played at a neutral site. The tournament was played in Shreveport, La., from 1995-2001 and was held in Houston in 2007 before moving to Katy in 2008.
 
11 Wins against 2011 Postseason Teams
The Southland has registered 11 wins against teams that reached the postseason last year. Northwestern State won games against NCAA tournament teams Alabama State and UALR, while Texas A&M-Corpus Christi beat Utah State, Stephen F. Austin beat Alabama State and UT Arlington beat Saint Peter's. The league also registered three wins against 2011 NIT teams. UTSA and Stephen F. Austin beat UTEP and UT Arlington notched a win against Kent State. Southland teams also notched three wins against teams that played in last year's CollegeInsider.com tournament. UTSA beat Oral Roberts, Lamar beat Tennessee Tech and Sam Houston State defeated Northern Arizona.
 
Team Capsules...
Central Arkansas Notes:  The Bears have lost three consecutive games after dropping both games last week ... they lost 75-71 in overtime at Southeastern Louisiana and then fell 87-76 at McNeese State last Sunday ... LaQuentin Miles averaged 21.0 points, 7.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists in the two games last week ... he scored 26 points to go with nine rebounds, four assists and two steals against the Lions and added 16 points and six rebounds against McNeese ... the Bears have already surpassed their overall win total (five) from last year with seven and their conference total (one) with two ... LaQuentin Miles averages 16.9 points per game and is the only UCA player averaging double figures, but three others average at least 8.4 points per game ... Miles ranks second in the conference in scoring ... the Bears average 14.8 assists per game to leads the conference ... they also leads in offensive rebounds, averaging 15.4 per game ... they rank third in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.0) ... in league play, UCA averages 74.9 points per game, the third highest total in the Southland.

Lamar Notes:  The Cardinals split games last week at Northwestern State and at home against Nicholls State ... they lost 74-62 against the Demons before picking up an 80-56 win at home against the Colonels on Saturday ... ... Lamar is now 8-1 at home this season ... Lamar has lost three of their last five games overall ... the Cardinals shot a season-high 62.0 percent from the floor Saturday against Nicholls after shooting 60.9 percent in the first half and 63.0 percent in the second half ... Brandon Davis, who started for just the second time this season, finished with 13 points and five rebounds against Nicholls ... Mike James leads the team with 16.7 points per game, which ranks third among Southland scorers ... his 20 points per game in seven conference games paces the league ... Devon Lamb is the team's top rebounder, averaging 7.9 rebounds per game to rank second in the Southland ... Lamar leads the league in defensive rebounds (26.7) and ranks second in free-throw percentage (72.3), rebound margin (+5.7), steals (8.8) and blocked shots (4.4).

McNeese State Notes: The Cowboys won 60-56 at Nicholls State and 87-76 against Central Arkansas to complete a perfect week and improve to 5-2 to stay tied atop the East Division standings with Northwestern State ... Craig McFerrin dislocated his shoulder in game with Central Arkansas ... he had come off the bench and scored 12 points and pulled down 11 rebounds in win over Nicholls ... before the injury against UCA he had scored five points and had five rebounds ... Patrick Richard leads all Southland Conference players in scoring with 17.4 points per game ... he is averaging 19.3 points per game in conference games, but is tied for second ... Richard is second on the team with 5.7 rebounds per game ... Jeremie Mitchell is second on the team in scoring, averaging 11.5 points per game ... Rudy Turner leads the team with 6.8 rebounds per game, the eighth best figure in the Southland ... McNeese is averaging 64.7 points per game, while it allows 64.8 points per game ... Richard's 35.6 minutes per game is tops in the league ... Mitchell is second the Southland with 2.4 three-pointers per game.

Nicholls State Notes:  After snapping a six-game losing streak Jan. 21 at Southeastern Louisiana, the Colonels lost both games last week, falling 60-56 vs. McNeese State and 80-56 at Lamar ... Bryan Hammond led the team in scoring with 19 points against Lamar, with 13 points coming in the second half ... Hammond has led the team in scoring five times this year and made a career-high nine shots from the field against the Cardinals ... Dantrell Thomas grabbed a season-best seven rebounds against Lamar ... he also tied a career-high in minutes played (31) ... Sam McBeath has blocked a shot in the last four games, and has at least one in 10 games ... against Lamar, Trevon Lewis was held scoreless for the first time in his career and snapped a seven-game double-digit scoring streak ... he leads the team in scoring, averaging 13.4 points per game ... he's also the team's leading rebounder, pulling down 6.0 boards per game ... Nicholls plays host to A&M-Corpus Christi and Texas State this week ... they are 1-4 all time against the Islanders with the only week coming last year.

Northwestern State Notes:  The Demons matched a season-long streak with its third consecutive win last week ... Northwestern beat Lamar 74-62 and followed with a 55-38 win over Southeastern Louisiana on Saturday to improve to 12-9 overall and 5-2 in conference play, which has them in a first-place tie in the East Division with McNeese State ... the Demons kept the Lions scoreless in the final 9:15 and held them to only 38 points, which is the lowest opponent total against Northwestern since 1971 ... Will Mosley was named the Southland and Louisiana player of the week and also earned national honors from collegesportsmadness.com as its mid-major player of the week ... he averaged 16 points, 10 rebounds, 5.5 blocks, 1.5 assists and 1.5 steals in the two games ... Mosley can continue his climb up the NCAA career blocked shots ... he has 421 and is ranked 17th and can climb as high as 13 if he matches his average against UCA ... Mosley has 1,023 career rebounds and is eight away from entering the Southland career top 10.

Sam Houston State Notes:  The Bearkats lost their second and third games in a row with defeats at Stephen F. Austin and UTSA this week ... the streak marks only the second time in eight seasons Sam Houston State has lost three Southland games in a row ... last year, the Bearkats lost three in a row, then bounced back to finish the regular season 8-2 to qualify for the conference tournament ... three of Sam Houston's five Southland losses have come by a total of five points ... the Bearkats have lost home games by scores of 62-60 to UTSA and 50-49 to A&M-Corpus Christi and fell in overtime to SFA in Nacogdoches 67-66 last Wednesday after battling back from 15 points down to force extra time ... Konner Tucker leads the team in scoring, averaging 11.8 points per game ... DeMarcus Gatlin (10.5) and Steven Werner (10.3) are also scoring in double figures ... Marcus James is the team's leading rebounder, averaging 6.9 per game, which ranks seventh in the Southland ... the Bearkats lead the conference in field goal percentage defense, limiting opponents to just 40.5 percent shooting from the floor.

Southeastern Louisiana Notes:  The Lions split a pair of games last week, winning 75-71 in overtime against Central Arkansas before dropping a 55-38 decision at Northwestern State ... Southeastern rallied from a 16-point deficit against UCA, coming back from its largest margin since trailing by 12 points last season in an 89-87 victory at Lamar ... DeShawn Patterson's six steals last week increased his career total to 160 and nine shy of the school record set by Hank Washington (1990-93) ... Patterson dished out 11 assists in the two games, including 10 against UCA, to increase his career total to 342 and moved past Terry Bryant (334, 2003-07), current teammate Brandon Fortenbery (335, 2008-present) and Joe Venable (340, 1983-87) into third place on the school's all-time list ... Roosevelt Johnson is leading the team with 9.8 points and 7.6 rebounds per game ... his rebounding average ranks fifth in the Southland ... Southeastern leads the league and ranks 13th nationally in 3-point field goal defense, limiting opponents to 28.9 percent shooting from behind the arc.

Stephen F. Austin Notes:  The Lumberjacks kept within reach of the West Division leaders with a pair of wins last week against Sam Houston State and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi ... SFA held the Islanders to just 49 points, the eighth opponent it has held under 50 points this year ... SFA has held an opponent to less than 20 points in a half six times this season, most recently holding A&M-Corpus Christi to just 15 points in the first half last Saturday ... SFA  is the only team in the country to not allow 70 points in a single game this season ... Jereal Scott averages 13.7 points to lead SFA, while Antonio Bostic (10.7) is the only other player in double figures ... Taylor Smith, who leads the team with 5.9 rebounds per game, leads the Southland, hitting 71.9 percent of his shots from the field ...  SFA ranks sixth nationally, limiting opponents to an average of 54.9 points per contest ... the Lumberjacks lead the Southland with a +7.5 rebound margin ... SFA ranks fourth in scoring margin (+7.1) and second in turnover margin (+2.7).

UT Arlington Notes:  The Mavericks extended their win streak to a school-record 11 games with a 79-74 non-conference win at Houston Baptist and an 82-79 triumph at Texas State last Saturday ... with the wins UTA improved to 15-5 overall and 7-0 in league play heading into a game Wednesday against a 14-7 UTSA team that is in second place at 6-1 ... that game will be the first for the Mavericks at their new 7,000-seat College Park Center ...  the Mavericks are ranked 19th in the Mid-Major poll for the second consecutive week and are ranked 93rd in the USA Today Sagarin ratings ... among the teams ranked in the Mid-Major poll, UTA leads with seven wins of at least 26 or more points ... LaMarcus Reed leads UTA with 16.1 points per game, which ranks fourth in the Southland ... he is averaging 19.3 points in league play, which is tied for second in the league ... Bo Ingram (11.7) and Kevin Butler (10.7) also average in double figures ... Jordan Reeves is the team's leading rebounder, pulling down 7.0 boards per game to rank sixth in the league ... the Mavericks rank second in the Southland with 77.7 points per game, but its scoring margin of +11.3 paces the league.

UTSA Notes:  Winners of five straight and eight of its last nine games, UTSA is off to its first 6-1 start to Southland Conference since 1992, its first year in the league ... picked up a non-conference win over Jarvis Christian last Wednesday and beat Sam Houston State 78-66 to sweep the season series against the Bearkats for the first time in 10 years ... UTSA set a school record by holding Jarvis Christian to 23.8-percent shooting and matched the school standard for 3-pointers in a game with 17 in a 115-49 victory, which was just two shy of the program's largest margin of victory (68) ... the Roadrunners have won nine of their last 10 conference home games ... UTSA leads the Southland in field goal percentage (.456), 3-point field goal percentage (.413), free throw percentage (.761), turnover margin (+3.9), assist-to-turnover ratio (1.1) and 3-pointers per game (8.7) ... the Roadrunners rank sixth in the NCAA in 3-point field goal percentage (.413) and 11th in 3-pointers per game (8.7 and free throw percentage (.761).

Texas A&M-Corpus Christi Notes:  The Islanders followed a 50-49 win at Sam Houston State Jan. 21 with a 74-68 victory over Texas State to win back-to-back games for the first time this season ... they lost 64-49 vs. Stephen F. Austin to fall to 3-5 in Southland play ... Terence Jones scored a career-high 33 points against Texas State on 9-of-18 shooting and a 13-of-14 outing at the line ... it was the most points by an Islander since Kevin Palmer scored 35 against UT Arlington in 2009 ... he followed that up with 20 against SFA and now has three 20-point games on the year and four in his career ... the 33-point outing was the most by a Southland player this season ... Jones leads the Islanders with 14.1 points per game ... Chris Hawkins-Mast averages 11.7 as the only other Islander in double figures ... Jones, Hawkins-Mast and Myron Dempsey scored 62 of the team's 74 points against Texas State and 36 of the 49 against SFA ... Hawkins-Mast delivered his first career double-double against the Bobcats, snaring a career-best 11 rebounds to go along with 17 points.

Texas State Notes:  The Bobcats will be trying to snap a four-game losing streak in a pair of road games this week ... they lost 74-68 at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and 82-79 at home against UT Arlington ... against the Mavericks, Wesley Davis tied a school record with eight steals to go along with his 14 points, two blocks and two assists ... it was the most steals in a game by a Bobcat since 2002 ... the Bobcats sit in sixth place in the West Division with an 8-12 overall record and a 1-6 record in league play ... Brooks Ybarra, who led all players against UTA with 17 points including five three-pointers, leads the Bobcats in scoring, averaging 12.4 points per game to go with 3.7 rebounds per game ... Matt Staff is second on the team in scoring, averaging 11.6 points to go with a team-best 7.7 rebounds per game ... Eddie Rios is also scoring in double figures, averaging 11.1 points per game to go with 2.6 assists per contest ... Texas State leads the Southland in scoring (79.1), ranks third in three-point percentage (.360) and fourth in field goal percentage (.441) ... Texas State visits Stephen F. Austin on Wednesday and Nicholls State on Saturday.