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CANYON, Texas – No. 3 West Texas A&M makes the short trip down Interstate 27 on Thursday, Feb. 6, to face off against Lubbock Christian in a Rivalry on the Range showdown. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. at Rip Griffin Center.
 
The Buffs defeated LCU 92-68 in their first meeting on January 18th in Canyon where Qua Grant scored a game-high 28 points with eight rebounds and five assists. WT shot 52.6 percent from the floor, 35.5 percent from 3-point range and 71.4 percent from the free throw line. 
 
A LOOK BACK AT UT PERMIAN BASIN
Joel Murray scored a career-high 32 points as No. 3 West Texas A&M extended the nation's longest home win streak to 38 games with a 111-78 victory over UT Permian Basin on Saturday afternoon in front of 1,456 fans of the First United Bank Center. 
 
Murray reached the3 0-point plateau for the first time in his career with 32 points making 6-of-12 3-points attempts while dishing out a team-high six assists. Grant picked up another double-double with 25 points and 10 rebounds. Derrick Geddis was once again in double figures with 13 points.
 
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING
WT continues to lead the nation in turnovers forced, steals and turnover margin. Though 22 games, they are forcing opponents into 22.1 turnovers per game with more than 10 of  those coming from steals. Their 9.3 turnover margin is also tops in all of NCAA DII men's basketball.
 
They also rank first in the LSC in scoring at 94.3 points per game, close to seven points more than second-place St. Edward's. They also led the conference in scoring margin (21.7 ppg) while ranking in the Top 10 in scoring defense (72.6). 
 
Grant ranks in the Top 25 in seven different categories including third in steals and sixth in steals per game. The sophomore has 59 steals this season, eight more than he had in 38 games a year ago. The Waxahachie native also ranks third in the conference in scoring (22.4 ppg) and seventh in rebound (7.2 rpg). 
 
Geddis has been one of the top scoring options for the Buffs over the past four games as the sophomore is averaging over 10 point per game. After seeing 9.9 minutes per game as a freshman, Geddis has started in all 22 games where he is scoring a career-best 9.3 points per game to go along with five rebounds. He also has the power to stretch defenses as he has made 10 of his 22 attempts from downtown a pair of 3-of-3 performances against Lincoln Memorial and Western New Mexico. 
 
WT heads to Lubbock to get their first win under sixth year head coach Tom Brown. The Chaps are the only team in the LSC (min. 5 games) that Brown does not have a winning record against. Their win last month pushed his record to 4-4 all-time against the Chaps, all four wins coming in the friendly confines of the First United Bank Center.
 
After going three games without a make from beyond the arc, Zach Toussaint has gone 5-of-12 from 3-point range over the past two games. The freshman sharpshooter is shooting 41.9 percent from downtown, including eight games with at least three makes.
 
A LOOK AT LUBBOCK CHRISTIAN
Since losing to WT on Jan. 18th, LCU has won four straight games including a 87-81 victory over nationally ranked St. Edward's where they shot a LSC recorded 27-of-27 from the free throw line.
 
The Chaps are scoring 75.7 points per game with five players, nearly six, averaging in double figures led by Lloyd Daniels. The junior has been a key part to their four-game win streak having scored over 20 points in three straight games. He has been named the LSC Offensive Player of the Week in consecutive weeks after putting up a career-high 34 against Texas A&M-Commerce. He has also been getting to the free throw line a lot, shooting a combined 33 free throws during the win streak. 
 
Parker Hicks ranks second on the team in scoring (11.3 ppg) while pulling down a team-high 6.4 rebounds per game. The Texas Tech transfer scored in double figures in six straight including a 21-point performance against St. Mary's. For the season, he is shooting 41.7 percent from the floor, 40.6 percent from three and 75.0 percent from the free throw line. 
 
Cameron Copley is the floor general for the Chaps as the sophomore is dishing out 5.2 assists per game. He has recorded eight or more assists in five game this season with the last coming against StMU. 
 
The Chaps are led by ninth-year head coach Todd Duncan, who led the team to a 21-10 record in 2018-19 and a trip to the NCAA South Central Regional where they upset Colorado School of Mines in the first round. 
 
A LOOK BACK AT THE FIRST MEETING
The Buffs led by 24 at halftime en route to their 92-68 victory over LCU on Jan. 18 in Canyon. Grant scored 17 of his game-high 28 points in the opening 20 minutes as WT won their third straight over the Chaps at home.
 
INSIDE THE SERIES
WT leads the all-time series 17-5 but have not won in Lubbock since Dec. 4, 2006. They have won three of the past four match ups after dropping three straight from 2015-16. 
 
SCORING AT AN UNPRECEDENTED PACE
The Buffs have scored over 100 points seven times this season including two straight games. Another 100-point performance on Thursday would mark the first time since WT has reached triple digits in three consecutive for the first time since 1990-91.
 
Their highest scoring total of the season came on Nov. 329at the Thanksgiving Pak-A-Sak Thanksgiving Classic with a 124-70 victory over Oklahoma Panhandle State followed by a 120-point performance against University of the Southwest a day later. 
 
BUFFS IN THE RANKINGS
west Texas A&M remained third in the newest National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) NCAA Division II Top 25 released on Tuesday afternoon. The Buffs (21-1, 13-1 LSC) have now been ranked in the Top 25 for a program record 42 straight weeks. 
 
The top four teams remained the same for the second consecutive week with Northwest Missouri State leading the way receiving all 16 first-place votes. Lincoln Memorial remained second with West Texas A&M in third and UC San Diego in fourth while Nova Southeastern moved up a spot to fifth. Florida Southern is now sixth with Azusa Pacific, St. Edward's, Indiana (Pa.) and Jefferson rounding out the Top 10.
 
BUFFALO CHIPS
Grant ranks 24th in NCAA DII men's basketball in points per game (22.4) while ranking 12th in total points with 493. He is seven points away from reaching 500 points for the second consecutive season.
 
Geddis ranks 143rd in the nation in offensive rebounds at 2.36 per game. Bowie State's Saiquan Jamison leads the nation with nearly five offensive rebounds per contest.
 
The Buffs have been one of the top 3-point defensive teams in the nation this season. Opponents are shooting 29.0 percent from three, which is the fourth-best mark in the nation.
 
On the topic of turnover margin (see above), Jon'il Fugett ranks 59th nationally in assist-turnover ratio (2.23). The sophomore had arguably his best game of the season against Western New Mexico finishing with 12 points, eight assists and six rebounds.
 
LIVE COVERAGE
The LCU Athletic Communications Department will provide live stats and broadcast for Thursday's game. Kent Johnson and Lucas Kinsey will be on the call for the Buffs on a free audio stream available on GoBuffsGo.com. 
 
UP NEXT
WT makes the trip to Angelo State on Saturday, Feb. 8, looking for the season sweep against the Rams. Tipoff is scheduled for 4 p.m.