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CANYON, Texas – The fifth-ranked Buffs of West Texas A&M host Oklahoma Panhandle State on the opening day of the WT Pak-A-Sak Thanksgiving Classic on Friday, Nov. 29, at the First United Bank Center. Tipoff is scheduled for 5 p.m.
 
Friday's game will be the first meeting between the program's since Nov. 22, 2016 when five Buffs scored in double figures in their 105-66 at Family Night at the FUBC. Overall, WT has won nine straight meetings over the Aggies. 
 
A LOOK BACK AT EASTERN NEW MEXICO
No. 5 West Texas A&M tied a school record with their 29th straight win at the First United Bank Center on Saturday afternoon in Canyon. Sophomore Qua Grant led all scorers with 27 points as the Buffs tied the previous record from 2015-18 with their 93-78 win over Eastern New Mexico in their Lone Star Conference opener.
 
Grant reached the 20-point plateau for the fourth time this season with a game-high 27 points after going 8-of-15 from the floor and 9-of-11 from the free throw line to go along with his seven steals. Joel Murray had 22 points going 7-of-13 from the floor and 3-of-6 from three-point range with Derrick Geddis pulling down a team-high eight rebounds.
 
A LOOK INSIDE THE NUMBERS
WT is in the midst of a 29-game home win streak that begin in 2018. During the streak, the Buffs are 27-0 against Division II schools and 2-0 against NAIA competition. They last lost a non-conference game at home on Nov. 19, 2015 against Lubbock Christian.
 
Under sixth-year head coach, WT is 9-1 (.900) in the Pak-A-Sak Thanksgiving Classic including eight straight wins. Last season, the Buffs defeated CSU-Pueblo and Central Oklahoma by a combined 38 points. 
 
Grant scored a season-high 27 points on Saturday, giving the sophomore sensation 20-plus points in three consecutive games. He also scored in double figures in 10 straight games dating back to last season. 
 
Murray enters Thanksgiving weekend leading the team in scoring at 22.2 points per contest after his 22-point performance against ENMU. The sophomore has already scored 20 or more points in four games, one more than did all of his freshman season.
 
The Buffs have one of the top defenses in the nation this season ranking in the Top 5 nationally in turnovers forced and turnover margin. WT's forcing 22.5 turnovers per game which is third-most in NCAA DII basketball while ranking third in turnover margin at 10.3. Grant's 18 steals are the eighth-most in the nation.
 
A LOOK AT DII'S LONGEST HOME WIN STREAK
The Buffs have won 29 straight home game which is the second longest current streak in all of NCAA College Basketball. Only the University of Tennessee has won more home games in a row (30) than the Buffs thanks to their win over Chattanooga on Monday evening. 
 
During the streak, WT is averaging 92.3 points per game where they have won four games by less than 10 points and 18 by more than 20 points. Their only overtime game during the streak came last year against Texas A&M-Kingsville. Brown, Chris Gove and Quincy Henderson are the only coaching staff in program history to have two home win streaks over 20 games. 
 
WT PAK-A-SAK THANKSGIVING CLASSIC TICKET VOUCHERS AVAILABLE AT PAK-A-SAK LOCATIONS IN CANYON AND AMARILLO
Ticket vouchers for this week's WT Pak-A-Sak Thanksgiving Classic are available at Pak-A-Sak locations in Canyon and Amarillo while supplies last. Each voucher will give free admission to one person into the annual Thanksgiving tournament hosted by the West Texas A&M men's and women's basketball programs.
 
A LOOK AT OKLAHOMA PANHANDLE STATE
Oklahoma Panhandle State enters Thanksgiving weekend 3-4 overall and 0-2 in Sooner Athletic Conference play. After opening the season with three wins in their first four games, the Aggies have dropped three straight including a 93-78 setback to Southwestern Christian on Nov. 23.
 
OPSU is averaging 70.4 points per game led by juniors Maurice Waters and DK Sumo IV. Waters is scoring a team-high 12.7 points per contest reaching double figures in five games this season including a 19-point performance last week. After a slow start, Sumo IV is now averaging 10.3 points per contest after scoring in double figures in three of OPSU's last four games.
 
The Aggies are led by first-year head coach Mark Laird, who was hired in the summer of 2019 after spending the previous two years as the associated head coach at SCU. He was previously a head coach Bethany College (Calif.) in 2010-11. 
 
INSIDE THE SERIES
Friday's game will be the 66th meeting between the two programs and first in more than three years. The Buffs are 32-1 all-time in Canyon against the Aggies including 18 straight wins dating back to 1987. 
 
LIVE COVERAGE
The WT Athletic Communications Department will provide live stats and pay-per-view webstream for the game. Kent Johnson and Lucas Kinsey will be on the call for the Buffs on the video stream available on GoBuffsGo.com. 
 
UP NEXT
WT will host University of the Southwest on Saturday, Nov. 30, on the final day of the Pak-A-Sak Thanksgiving Classic.