Date	Time	Opponent	Location	Venue	Links
Friday, November 8	6:00 p.m.	Oklahoma Panhandle State	Canyon, Texas	First United Bank Center	Stats | FloSports | Game Notes

 
CANYON, Texas – West Texas A&M men's basketball continues its early season schedule on Friday, Nov. 8 when the Buffs welcome the Aggies of Oklahoma Panhandle State. Tipoff is scheduled for 6 p.m. inside the First United Bank Center.
 
LIVE COVERAGE
The Athletic Communications Department from West Texas A&M will provide live stats and a pay-per-view web stream. Fans will need to purchase a monthly ($19.99) or annual ($107.88) subscription with FloSports, the official streaming provider of the Lone Star Conference. The subscription allows fans access to any content available on FloSports.
 
A LOOK AT THE BUFFS
WT hosts OPSU on Friday night after a pair of wins to open the season. With the season-opening win against No. 25 Ferris State, the Buffs moved to 8-3 in season openers under Tom Brown including 4-0 at home. WT returned to the court on Sunday where the Buffs defeated UNC Pembroke 77-70, finishing the tournament as the team champions.
 
The Buffs are led by junior guard Ahamed Mohammed who average 24.0 points and 7.5 rebounds over the first two games. Noah Pagotto posted a 20-point performance against Ferris State following that game up with an 11-point game against UNC Pembroke. Mohammed and Amir McMillian pace the team with six assists while Mohammed posted four steals, and Pagotto blocked a pair of shots. Isaac Ayoubi also shined in the tournament, accounting for a pair of 10-point games.
 
SCOUTING OKLAHOMA PANHANDLE STATE
The Aggies enter Friday's game with a 1-1 record after defeating Bethany College, 79-59. Oklahoma Panhandle State is led by second-year head coach Charles Belt. Belt has produced a 5-23 record in Goodwell with a 71-89 record as a head coach.
 
On the season, OPSU averages 78.0 points per game on 43.8 percent shooting from the field while giving up 69.5 points per game to opponents. Four players average double-digit scoring for the Aggies paced by Amaree Brown's 15.5 per contest. Kyle Belgrave (13.0), Abdulh Diaby (10.5), and Brice Langford (10.5) also average double figures. Langford leads the team with 6.30 rebounds per game. Diaby leads the team with four steals while Belgrave has accounted for four assists and three blocks.  
 
THE SERIES
WT leads the all-time series with Oklahoma Panhandle State 61-6 including a 44-2 record in Canyon. Tom Brown is 4-0 against the Aggies in his tenure at the helm of the Buffs. The Buffs have won 11 consecutive meetings in the series along with a 20-game winning streak at home.
 
W, 105-72 – Canyon, 2022
W, 124-70 – Canyon, 2019
W, 105-66 – Canyon, 2016
W, 87-77 – Goodwell, 2015
W, 72-62 – Canyon, 2013
 
LAST TIME OUT
The Buffs posted a 2-0 start at the D2CCA Tip-Off Classic in Canyon with wins over #25 Ferris State and UNC Pembroke. Against Ferris State, Noah Pagotto paced WT with 21 points followed by Ahamed Mohammed's 16 and Isaac Ayoubi's 10 to take down the Bulldogs with a 79-65 victory. Against UNC Pembroke, Mohammed posted a career night with a 32-point, 11-rebound double-double. Although the Braves made a late push, Mohammed and the Buffs closed out a 77-70 win to become D2CCA Team Champions.
 
THE BROWN ERA
Head coach Tom Brown enters his 11th 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 seven consecutive NCAA Tournaments including the Buffs first-ever NCAA Division II National Championship game in 2021. Under Brown, the Buffs are 268-62 since he took the reins in 2014 for an incredible winning percentage of 81.2%.  Brown registered his 250^th career victory on Jan. 13, 2024, after the Buffs defeated UT Permian Basin, 77-69, to become just the second coach in program history to reach the 250-win plateau. 


NABC TOP 25 POLL
Minnesota State topped the rankings with 10 first-place votes and 393 points followed closely by Nova Southeastern with six first-place votes and 390 points. West Texas A&M sits third with 346 points while MSU Moorhead (271) and Dallas Baptist (233) finish out the top five. California (Pa.) occupies the sixth spot with 222 points with Gannon (204), Colorado School of Mines (190), North Georgia (184), and Washburn rounding out the top 10.
 
The South Central Region is represented by five teams in the poll with WT leading the way. DBU (5^th), Colorado School of Mines (8^th), Colorado Mesa (21^st), and Fort Lewis (22^nd) also earned spots in the poll while Lubbock Christian, MSU Denver, and St. Edward's earned votes.
 
ON THIS DAY: NOV. 8
Friday's game marks just the second time the Buffs have played on this date. The lone time WT has played on Nov. 8 came in 2019 when the Buffs defeated Adams State 108-77 in Canyon.
 
W, 108-77 – Adams State, 2019
 
LSC PRESEASON FAVORITE
WT earned the top spot in the poll with 28 first-place votes and 687 points followed by Dallas Baptist with 12 first-place votes and 671 points. Lubbock Christian (4 fpv, 628) took the third spot while Angelo State (555) and St. Edward's (545) make up the top five. Texas A&M International (1 fpv, 427), Eastern New Mexico (391), Cameron (386), UT Permian Basin (338), and Oklahoma Christian hold the sixth through 10^th spots, respectively. Midwestern State (318), St. Mary's (313), Texas A&M-Kingsville (198), UT Tyler (152), Western New Mexico (124), and Sul Ross State (63) finish out the poll.
 
THE LONE STAR
The 2024-25 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 Lone Star Conference presents its 51st men's basketball tournament March 7-8-9, 2025, played at Comerica Center in Frisco, Texas. The eight-team bracket includes the East and West Division winners, who automatically receive berths, with the remaining qualifiers and seeding based on results versus all LSC teams. The Division II Men's Basketball Championship starts with regionals March 14-18 at campus sites and continues to the Elite Eight March 25-29 in Evansville, Ind.
 
2023-24 REVIEW
The Buffs returned to the Final Four in the 2023-24 season, capturing the program's fifth regional title. Despite seeing its run of consecutive Lone Star Conference tournament titles come to an end, WT earned the top seed in the South Central region, hosting the regional tournament for the second consecutive year. The Buffs swept their way through the regional tournament, defeating eight-seeded Angelo State and fourth-seeded and No. 12-ranked Dallas Baptist to reach the championship game. Facing off against third-seeded and No. 6-ranked Colorado Mesa, a big second half lifted the Buffs to the regional title with Larry Wise earning Tournament MVP honors. At the Elite Eight, WT defeated fifth-seeded and No. 14-ranked North Georgia 90-76 to advance to the Final Four where top-seeded Minnesota State outlasted the Buffs, 79-72.
 
UP NEXT
The Buffs hit the road for the first time on Thursday, Nov. 14 against Central Oklahoma. Action with the Bronchos is slated to begin at 6 p.m. at the Hamilton Field House in Edmond, Okla.
 
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