Date	Time	Opponent	Location	Venue	Links
Thursday, February 8	7:30 p.m.	UT Permian Basin	Odessa, Texas	Falcon Dome	Stats | Video | Game Notes

 
CANYON, Texas – West Texas A&M men's basketball hits the road for the first time in the month of February as the Buffs travel to Odessa, Texas to meet the Falcons of UT Permian Basin. The Falcons (13-8, 8-7 LSC) host the Buffs (20-1, 14-0 LSC) at 7:30 p.m. inside the Falcon Dome.
 
LIVE COVERAGE 
A live stream will be available for the game provided by the UT Permian Basin athletic communications department through the Lone Star Conference Digital Network. Fans can buy a yearly pass for $140 that grants access to all broadcasts for the LSC including previous years or a $30 monthly subscription. Live stats will also be provided for fans to stay up to date.
 
NABC TOP 25 POLL
The Buffs received all 16 first-place votes for a total of 400 points followed by Nova Southeastern with 381 points. Fort Lewis and DBU each moved up a spot to No. 3 and No. 4, respectively, while Minnesota State slid to the No. 5 spot.   
 
WT is one of five South Central regional programs ranked with the Buffs leading the way at No. 1. Fort Lewis (3^rd), DBU (4^th), Colorado Mesa (10^th), and Colorado School of Mines (17^th) earned spots in the poll. Lubbock Christian received votes in the poll.
 
SCOUTING UT PERMIAN BASIN
UT Permian Basin hosts the Buffs with an overall record of 13-8 and 8-7 mark in Lone Star Conference play. In the Falcons last outing, UT Permian Basin fell to Eastern New Mexico 95-82 in Portales. The Falcons are led by head coach Kyle Tolin who is in his 10th season overall and third in Odessa. For his career, Tolin holds a 150-128 record including a 42-39 mark at UTPB.
 
On the season, UTPB averages 80.9 points per game on 48.5 percent shooting from the field while holding opponents to just 69.7 points. Six players average double-digit scoring for the Falcons paced by Alex Matthews' 14.1 per contest. Lathaniel Bastian (13.2), Keyon Craddock (12.3), DJ Armstrong (11.2), Zy Wright (10.8), and Maison Adeleye (10.5) also average double figures. Bastian also leads the team in blocks and field goal percentage while pacing the conference with 10.8 rebounds per game. Craddock spearheads the offense with 66 assists while Armstrong leads the defense with 28 steals.
 
THE SERIES
WT leads the all-time series with UT Permian Basin 20-2 including 5-2 in Odessa.  Tom Brown is 15-2 against the Falcons in his tenure at the helm of the Buffs. Kyle Tolin holds an 0-7 record against WT in his three seasons at UTPB including a loss to the Buffs earlier this season.
 
W, 77-69 – Canyon, 2024
W, 70-66 – Canyon, 2023
W, 87-67 – Odessa, 2023
W, 85-55 – Canyon, 2022
W, 72-58 – Canyon (LSC), 2021
 
LSC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
West Texas A&M men's basketball senior Larry Wise earned the Lone Star Conference Offensive Player of the Week award for the third-consecutive week as announced by the league office on Monday. Wise earns the award for the fifth time in his career as a Buff.
 
Wise continued his hot streak with a pair of 20+ point games once again, extending his streak to six consecutive games. Wise scored a game-high 29 points with eight rebounds and four assists against Cameron. The senior guard then posted a 32-point showing in the Buffs' win against Midwestern State. The scoring mark set a new season high and moved Wise into ninth on the program's all-time scoring list. Wise's 30.5 scoring average for the week came with just two turnovers.
 
THE BROWN ERA
Head coach Tom Brown enters his 10th 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 256-58 since he took the reins in 2014 for an incredible winning percentage of 81.5%.  Brown registered his 250^thcareer 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. 
 
LAST TIME OUT
The West Texas A&M men's basketball team completed a 4-0 home stand with an 89-62 victory over the Mustangs of Midwestern State. The Buffs remain perfect in Lone Star Conference play at 14-0 while holding a 20-1 overall record. Larry Wise scored a season-high 32 points while recording six rebounds, five assists, and a steal in the win. Ahamed Mohammed also reached double figures, scoring 12 points. Kieran Elliott pulled in a game-high 10 rebounds, coming up one point shy of a double-double.
 
RECORD WATCH 
Zach Toussaint is moving his way up the ladder in the program's 3-point career leaderboard.  The Johnsburg, Ill., product ranks second all-time with 343 threes after passing former Buff Jordan Evans (2015-2018) in the Buffs' win over Arkansas Fort Smith on Nov. 30. Larry Wise also moved into the top 10 of 3-point shots made, ranking eighth with 168, two away from passing Jordan Collins. David Chavlovich (2014-18) is the program's all-time 3-point leader with 388. 
 
Toussaint and fellow senior Larry Wise both broke the 1,000-point mark last season. Currently, Toussaint ranks fourth with 1,621 after passing Joel Murray in the Buffs' win over Cameron on Feb. 1. With his 32 points on Feb. 3, Wise moved into ninth with 1,437 points.
 
Toussaint is also the program's all-time games played leader after breaking the record on Jan. 27, 2025 against UT Tyler.  
 
ON THIS DAY: FEB. 8
Saturday's game marks the 35^th time the Buffs have played on this date and first since 2020. WT is 24-10 all time including wins including a nine-game winning streak.
 
W, 73-59 – Angelo State, 2020
W, 103-93 – Cameron, 2018
W, 58-51 – Texas A&M-Kingsville, 2014
W, 57-49 – Abilene Christian, 2012
W, 76-67 – Texas A&M-Kingsville, 2007
 
BEVO FRANCIS TOP 100 WATCH LIST
Senior Larry Wise was named to the Top 100 Watch List for the 2023-2024 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. The finalists and Bevo Francis Award winner announcement release date is TBD. More information will be available in the coming months.
 
TREVOR HUDGINS TOP 25 WATCH LIST
Small College Basketball announced West Texas A&M senior Zach Toussaint was named to the Trevor Hudgins Top-25 Watch List. Toussaint becomes the first Buff to be named to the watch list after the award was announced in November 2023.
 
The Trevor Hudgins Award will be presented annually to the senior who has had the finest overall four-year career within Small College Basketball. Considerations will be overall career statistics and achievements, team achievements, awards, and personal character. The player must have played his entire career at the small college level. This will be the highest award given to a four-year player within Small College Basketball.
 
LSC PRESEASON FAVORITE
WT was voted to repeat as Lone Star Conference regular season champs with 703 total points including 34 of the possible 45 first-place votes. Angelo State came in second in the preseason poll with 675 points and nine first-place votes. St. Edward's (600, 1 fpv) came in third followed by Lubbock Christian (564, 1 fpv) and DBU (522) to round out the top five. Texas A&M-Kingsville, voted to finish sixth, tallied 497 points with St. Mary's following at 443 and Eastern New Mexico at 377. Midwestern State (298) and UAFS (282) finish the top 10. Texas A&M International (278), Western New Mexico (216), UT Permian Basin (208), Oklahoma Christian, (183), UT Tyler (176), and Cameron (93) rounded out the poll.
 
THE LONE STAR
The 2023-24 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 2024 with seeding based on the 22 conference games. The East and West Division winners automatically qualify for the LSC Tournament but are not guaranteed a top two seed. The championships are set to take place March 7-8-9-10, 2024, at the Comerica Center in Frisco, Texas.
 
2022-23 REVIEW
The Buffs come off another successful campaign after finishing 27-7 in 2022-23 and claiming the program's sixth-consecutive Lone Star Conference Tournament title. In the LSC Championship game, Zach Toussaint drained a pull-up jump shot with three seconds left to give WT a 64-63 win over No. 19 Angelo State. After receiving the automatic qualifier, the Buffs were selected as the top seed in the region and hosted the regional tournament. After a 78-56 win over Texas A&M-Kingsville and a 69-59 win over No. 23 Angelo State, WT matched up with No. 21 Black Hills State for a spot in the Elite Eight. The game came down to the last tenth of a second as Damion Thornton's game-winner was waved off as the Yellow Jackets advanced with a 68-67 victory.
 
UP NEXT
The Buffs finish their road trip in San Angelo, Texas with a matchup against Angelo State. Tip-off is slated for 3 p.m. at Stephens Arena.
 
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).