Game Notes
 
CANYON, Texas – The West Texas A&M Buffs travel to Dallas for a Lone Star Conference crossover game with Dallas Baptist on Thursday night.  The Patriots hold a 10-8 overall record and 5-5 in LSC action with a 2-4 record in the LSC East division while the Buffs enter 11-5 overall (9-1 LSC) and 5-1 in divisional play. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. inside the Burg Center.  
 
LIVE COVERAGE
A live stream and stats will be provided by the DBU Communications department.  The game will be streamed on the Lone Star Conference Digital Network.  Fans will be able to purchase a $10 daily pass that will give them access to all contests on the network that day as well as access to previously aired games from the current season for 24 hours. Fans can also purchase a $75 basketball season pass that will give them access to all Lone Star Conference basketball games.  In addition to live and archived streaming options, viewers will have the option to purchase and download games from the 2022-23 season for $10 each.
 
NABC TOP 25 POLL
The top two schools in the National Association Basketball Coaches (NABC) remained the same in the Division II Top 25 Poll as Indiana (Pa.) holds the No. 1 spot with a perfect 15-0 record. Nova Southeastern follows IUP as the only other undefeated team in the nation at 16-0. Lincoln Memorial moved into the No. 3 spot while Central Oklahoma jumped into the No. 4 after Black Hills State and Northwest Missouri State each suffered a loss last week. Four members of the South Central Region are represented in the national standings with Colorado School of Mines (5th), BHSU (8th), Fort Lewis (12th), Colorado Mesa (23rd) earning spots in the poll with Angelo State receiving votes.
 
AROUND THE LONE STAR
Angelo State and WT continue to reign at the top of the Lone Star Conference overall standings with each school holding a 9-1 LSC record.  Angelo State leads the West Division at 9-1 overall and 13-3 in LSC action followed by WT (11-5, 9-1 LSC), Midwestern State (8-9, 5-6 LSC), Lubbock Christian (10-6, 6-4 LSC), Eastern New Mexico (10-6, 5-5 LSC), Western New Mexico (10-6, 4-6 LSC), UT Permian Basin (10-9, 3-7 LSC), and Cameron (2-15, 0-11 LSC). Texas A&M-Kingsville (13-5, 7-3) leads the East Division followed by St. Edward's (14-5, 8-2 LSC), Texas A&M International (11-7, 4-6 LSC), UAFS (8-9, 4-7 LSC), Oklahoma Christian (7-10, 3-8 LSC), DBU (10-8, 5-5 LSC), St. Mary's (8-7, 5-5 LSC), and UT Tyler (8-6, 4-6 LSC).
 
SCOUTING THE PATRIOTS
Dallas Baptist comes into the contest on a three-game losing streak, falling in four of their last five contests. The Patriots enter with a 10-8 overall record, 5-5 in LSC action, but hold a 6-1 record at home this season. In its previous contest, Texas A&M International held off DBU to win, 64-58.
 
Head coach Dr. Blake Flickner is in his 17th season as the head coach for the Patriots. Flickner holds a 309-196-2 overall record while at the helm of the DBU.
 
The Patriots average 71.4 points per game while their opponents are scoring 66.4 for a 5.0 scoring margin. Dallas Baptist shoots 45.7 percent from the field, 35.6 percent from behind the arc, and 65.2 percent from the free throw line to go along with 31.6 rebounds, 14.8 assists, 8.7 steals, 12.4 turnovers and 1.7 blocks.
 
Ricky Lujan leads DBU as the top double-digit scorer with 12.2 points per game. The 6-foot-1 junior guard from Las Cruces, N.M. is shooting 48.3 percent from the floor, 35.8 percent from three, and 67.4 percent at the charity stripe to go along with while totaling 54 total assists and 20 steals.
 
Cameron Kahn and Ta'Jay Dunlap round out the top averages on the Patriots, scoring 11.4 and 10.8 points per game, respectively. Kahn leads DBU with 91 rebounds and ranks third on the team with 34 assists. Dunlap has racked up a second-best 49 assists and team-high 35 steals.
 
THE SERIES
WT leads the all-time series between the two programs, 7-1, 7-1 under head coach Tom Brown. The Buffs are 1-0 at the Burg Center in Dallas all-time winning the lone meeting on the campus of DBU 72-65 on Jan. 29, 2022.
 
W, 72-65 – Dallas, 2022
W, 82-65 – Lubbock (NCAA), 2021
W, 88-77 – Canyon (LSC), 2021
L, 77-87 – Canyon, 2021
W, 84-71 – Canyon, 2021
 
THE BROWN ERA
Head coach Tom Brown is in his ninth season at the helm of Buffalo Basketball, building the program into one of the elite NCAA Division II schools in the nation.  He has guided the Buffs to six consecutive NCAA Tournaments including the Buffs first-ever NCAA Division II National Championship game in 2021. Under Brown, the Buffs are 221-55 since he took the reins in 2014 for an incredible winning percentage of 80.1%.  Brown registered his 200th career victory on Jan. 31, 2022, after the Buffs defeated St. Edward's, 82-72, to become just the third coach in program history to reach the 200-win plateau.
 
LAST TIME OUT
WT fought off an upset-minded Eastern New Mexico at the First United Bank Center on Saturday afternoon. The Buffs held a 16-point advantage at halftime, but the Greyhounds slowly cut down the WT lead. As the clock neared the end of regulation, the Buffs converted crucial free throws and capped the game off with a dunk by Addison Wallace with 26 seconds to play. WT shot 52.5% (31-of-59) from the field, 40.9% (9-of-22) from deep, 90.2% from the charity stripe with 27 rebounds, 11 assists, nine steals, four blocks, and 10 turnovers.
 
Julius Brown matched a season-high for points as the Westerville, Ohio native led the Buffs with 30 points, six assists, two steals, and two rebounds. Larry Wise followed Brown with 22 points while Zach Toussaint (16), Damion Thornton (13), and Addison Wallace (11) each reached double figures. 
 
RECORD WATCH
Zach Toussaint is moving his way up the ladder in the program's 3-point career leaderboard.  The Johnsburg, Ill., product ranks fourth all-time with 258 threes and is three away from matching former Buff Martin Lattibeaudiere (1993-97).  David Chavlovich (2014-18) is the program's all-time 3-point leader with 388. 
 
Toussaint also ranks tied for 13th in all-time scoring with 1,187 points and needs just 40 to crack the Top 10.  He became just the 24th player in program history to reach 1,000 career point in the Buffs Top 5 matchup against the No. 1 Northwest Missouri State in the 2022-23 season opener.
 
BEVO FRANCIS TOP 100 WATCH LIST
Senior Julius Brown was named to the Top 100 Watch List for the 2022-2023 Bevo Francis Award presented to the top player in Small College Basketball, awarded by SmallCollegeBasketball.com. The honor is awarded to a deserving player whose university is affiliated within NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III, NAIA Division I, NAIA Division II, USCAA and NCCAA.

The Clarence "Bevo" Francis Award is presented annually to the player who has had the finest overall season within Small College Basketball. Considerations will be season statistics and individual achievements, awards, personal character, and team achievements. This is an incredibly prestigious award, as this award will only be given to one player within Small College Basketball per season.
 
On February 15th, the list will be reduced to the Top 50 players. One month later on March 15th, the Top 25 players will be announced. On April 1st, the finalists of this year's award will be announced, followed by the Bevo Francis Award winner being crowned on April 3rd.
 
ON THIS DAY: JAN. 19
Thursday's matchup marks the 28th time the Buffs have played on Jan. 19, last playing on this date in 2019 against Tarleton. In that matchup, WT defeated the Texans 83-71 in Canyon.
 
W, 83-71 – Tarleton State, 2019
L, 73-91– #11 Tarleton State, 2017
L, 50-65 – Tarleton State, 2013
W, 71-54– Abilene Christian, 2011
W, 63-52 – Eastern New Mexico, 2008
 
LSC PRESEASON FAVORITE
The Buffs were picked to win their sixth consecutive LSC Tournament title receiving 36 o the 39 first place votes for 619 total points. DBU received 560 points to rank second followed by Lubbock Christian (2-fpv, 489), Midwestern State (460), and St. Edward's (428) closing out the top five. Texas A&M-Kingsville (399) was picked sixth followed by St. Mary's (380), Angelo State (364), UT Tyler (314), UT Permian Basin (1-fpv, 310), UAFS (293), Texas A&M International (246), Western New Mexico (145), Oklahoma Christian (134), Eastern New Mexico (95), and Cameron (68).
 
PRESEASON POY
Julius Brown, a native of Westerville, Ohio, was named the league Preseason Player of the Year after helping the Buffs to their fifth straight conference title. The D2CCA All-Region selection and LSC Newcomer of the Year averaged 16.0 points, 3.6 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game while shooting 42.1 percent from the floor, 31.1 percent from 3-point range and 76.8 percent from the free throw line. He scored a season-high 34 in the Buffs 83-73 victory over Angelo State in the conference quarterfinals.
 
THE LONE STAR
The 2022-23 LSC basketball schedule will feature 16 men's teams in two divisions with each team playing a double round-robin schedule within their division. Additionally, teams will play eight crossover competitions against teams from the opposite division for a total of 22 conference games.
 
The LSC Basketball Championships will feature an 8-team field in 2023 with seeding based on the 22 conference games. The divisional winners will receive the top two seeds in the tournament. The championships are set to take place March 2-3-4-5, 2023, at the Comerica Center in Frisco, Texas.
 
2021-22 REVIEW
The Buffs ended the 2021-22 season 29-7 with the program's sixth straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament.  WT earned the automatic bid to the tournament after claiming the Lone Star Conference Tournament title for the fifth consecutive year, defeating Texas A&M-Kingsville 77-70 in the championship. Julius Brown earned Tournament MVP honors after leading the tournament with 76 points including 34 in the quarterfinals.  Zach Toussaint became the first player to drop 36 points in a single game since 2016 while becoming the 14th in program history to reach the milestone.
 
UP NEXT
The Buffs continue their four-game road trip with a matchup against UT Tyler on Saturday, Jan. 21 at 3 p.m. The following week WT takes on Cameron on Thursday, Jan. 26 at 7:30 p.m. and Midwestern State on Saturday, Jan. 28 at 3 p.m.
 
FOLLOW THE BUFFS
Fans can follow and stay up to date on all the Buff action on online and on social media.  Follow the Buffs on Twitter (@WestTXD2Hoops), Instagram (@WTAMU_MBB), and Facebook (/WTAMUMBB).