Date	Time	Opponent	Location	Venue	Links
Tuesday, March 19	7 p.m.	(3) #6 Colorado Mesa	Canyon, Texas	First United Bank Center	Stats | Video | Game Notes

 
CANYON, Texas – The West Texas A&M men's basketball team faces the No. 6-ranked Mavericks of Colorado Mesa on Tuesday night for the NCAA Division II South Central Regional title and a spot in the Elite Eight. The Buffs (28-4) and Mavericks (29-4) are scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. inside the First United Bank Center in Canyon.  
 
LIVE COVERAGE
NCAA Digital has partnered with Hudl to utilize the Hudl platform to stream all eligible games from the 2024 Division II Men's Basketball Championship, including the regionals. All games will be webcast on www.ncaa.com, the Hudl platform and an OTT app – "NCAA Championships Pass."
 
Fans will have three viewing options: $9.95 per contest, $29.95 for all Division II Men's Basketball Championship games excluding the semifinals and championship game, and $49.95 for all Division II Women's and Men's Basketball Championship games, excluding the semifinals and championship games. The semifinals of the Division II Men's Basketball Championship will be carried on CBS Sports Network while the final will be carried on CBS.
 
NABC TOP 25 POLL
Nova Southeastern received all but one first-place vote for a total of 399 points followed by Minnesota State (381), Gannon (358), Northwest Missouri State (355, 1 fpv), and Fort Lewis (337). Colorado Mesa, Charleston, California (PA.), West Texas A&M, and Minnesota Duluth round out the top 10.
 
WT is one of five South Central regional programs ranked with Fort Lewis leading the way at No. 5. Colorado Mesa (6^th), WT (9^th), DBU (12^th), and Colorado School of Mines (23^rd) earned spots in the rankings. Eastern New Mexico and Lubbock Christian also received votes in the poll.
 
A LOOK AT THE NCAA REGIONAL BRACKET
Colorado Mesa defeated Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference rival Fort Lewis in the first of two semifinal games on Sunday. The Mavericks nailed a go-ahead three with 35 seconds to play before making key free throws to seal the victory. In the nightcap, Lone Star Conference foes Dallas Baptist and West Texas A&M went toe-to-toe exchanging blows throughout the game. A crucial three from Brock Mishak with 1:56 to play put the Buffs up seven where Ahamed Mohammed stepped up in the final minute to seal the victory.
 
SCOUTING (3) #6 COLORADO MESA
The Mavericks enter the top-10 matchup with an overall record of 29-4 after an 85-80 victory over No. 5-nationally and No. 2 seed Fort Lewis.  Colorado Mesa is led by 23^rd-year head coach Mike DeGeorge who is in his sixth season in Grand Junction. DeGeorge has produced a nationally prominent program in Colorado with a 141-42 (.770) record with the program. For his career, DeGeorge holds a 336-290 (.537) record.
 
On the season, CMU averages 86.8 points per game on 50.3 percent shooting from the field while holding opponents to 73.7 points. Four Mavericks average double-digit scoring with Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Player of the Year Trevor Baskin leading the way with 18.2. Mac Rinicker (14.2), Owen Koonce (13.4), and Isaac Jessup (10.1) also average double digits. Baskin also leads the team with 8.3 rebounds per game, 127 assists, and 42 blocks while Riniker paces the team with 45 steals.
 
THE SERIES
WT and Colorado Mesa have met just three times in the series history. In the 2003 meeting, the Buffs defeated the Mavericks 79-77 in Golden, Colo. In 2021, a third-ranked WT squad took down No. 4 Colorado Mesa 72-63 to open the 2021-22 season at the D2CCA Tipoff Classic in Canyon. Earlier this season, the Buffs defeated the Mavericks 81-66 at the High Desert Classic in Las Vegas.
 
W, 81-66 – Las Vegas, 2023
W, 72-63 – Canyon, 2021
W, 79-77 – Golden, Colo., 2003
 
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 264-61 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. 
 
LAST TIME OUT
For the second-consecutive season, the West Texas A&M men's basketball team advanced to the NCAA Division II South Central Regional Championship after defeating Dallas Baptist, 60-54. With the win, the Buffs improve to 28-4 overall. Two Buffs reached double-digit scoring on Sunday night led by a team-high 16 from Larry Wise. Ryland Holt was the only other Buff to reach double figures, scoring 11 points. Ahamed Mohammed pulled in a game-high nine rebounds and four assists. Holt blocked a pair of shots while making a steal in the win.


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 374 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 sixth with 185 made threes. 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 second with 1,783 after passing Qua Grant and Ryan Quaid during the Buffs' game against Cameron on March 7. Wise continues to move up the scoring list as the Waxahachie, Texas now ranks fifth with 1,636 points, passing Joel Murray in WT's victory over Angelo State on March 16.
 
Toussaint is also the program's all-time games played leader after breaking the record on Jan. 27, 2024 against UT Tyler.  
 
ON THIS DAY: MARCH 19
Tuesday's regional championship marks just the Buffs have played on this date and first since 2019. In its limited action on March 19, WT is 1-1. The last time the Buffs played on this date, they defeated No. 4-ranked St. Edward's 98-93 in the 2019 South Central Regional Championship.
 
W, 89-70 – #4 St. Edward's, 2019
L, 55-63 – #7 UC Davis, 1998
L, 28-47 – Hutchinson, 1935
 
BEVO FRANCIS TOP 25 WATCH LIST
On Friday morning, Small College Basketball announced West Texas A&M senior Larry Wise was among one of 25 players remaining on the 2023-24 Bevo Francis Award watch list. 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 April 5th, the finalists of this year's award will be announced, followed by the Bevo Francis Award winner being crowned on April 8th.
 
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
A win would send WT to Evansville, Ind. for its fifth Elite Eight appearance in program history and fourth since 2018.
 
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