#20 West Texas A&M (12-3, 4-1) vs. #17 St. Edward's (14-2, 3-2)
Date	Thursday, January 8 | 7:30 p.m.
Location	Canyon, Texas | First United Bank Center
Follow Along	Live Stats
Watch Live	FloCollege (Pay-Per-View)
Additional Links	Game Notes

CANYON, Texas – The #20 Buffaloes of West Texas A&M return to the First United Bank Center on Thursday night for a Top-25 showdown with the #17 St. Edward's Hilltoppers in Lone Star Conference action with tipoff set for 7:30 p.m. in Canyon.
 
SUL ROSS STATE REWIND
The then #14 Buffaloes got back to their winning ways on Sunday afternoon with an 86-79 victory over the Sul Ross State Lobos at the Gallego Center in Alpine, Texas. Fontaine Williams Jr. scored 23 points, including four 3-pointers, and made seven free throws. Kemper Jones matched with 23 points, sinking five 3-pointers and completing a double-double with 10 rebounds. Brock Mishak added 17 points and recorded nine rebounds, contributing four assists in the process.
 
SCOUTING THE HILLTOPPERS
St. Edward's enters the week with an overall record of 14-2 with a 3-2 mark in Lone Star Conference action. Last week saw the Hilltoppers return to league action with a 88-71 loss to then #8 Lubbock Christian in Austin before they rebounded with a big 90-68 victory over Midwestern State.
 
Sunday afternoon saw the Hilltoppers shoot 55% (33-of-60) from the floor including 44.4% (12-of-27) from behind the arc as six players finished in double-figures against Midwestern State. Mason Courtney led the way as the senior guard from Clifton Park, New York went 5-of-10 from the field including 4-of-8 from deep for a team-best 18 points to go along with eight boards, three assists and two blocks in the win.
 
Blake Nielsen paces the St. Edward's offense as the graduate student from Perth, Australia has gone 87-of-186 (46.8%) from the floor including 18-of-56 (32.1%) from deep and 34-of-42 (81%) from the charity stripe to average 17.4 points per game to go along with 68 rebounds, 44 assists, eight steals and a pair of blocks.
 
SEU HEAD COACH ANDRE COOK
Andre Cook is now in his 17th season at the helm of the St. Edward's men's basketball program. Cook has guided the Hilltoppers to 11 consecutive winning seasons and four NCAA Tournaments. Cook has coached 31 players to 44 All-Conference accolades with six players earning All-Region honors.
 
Cook came to St. Edward's from Hudson Valley Community College, where he compiled an overall record of 119-40 (.748) in five seasons. As a player, Cook anassed over 1,000 career points during his career at Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, New York.
 
THE SERIES
Thursday night marks the 12th all-time meeting on the hardwood between the Buffs and Hilltoppers in a series that dates back to 1990. West Texas A&M is 7-4 in the series with St. Edward's winning the last two meetings. The Hilltoppers are 1-5 all-time in Canyon including 1-3 at the First United Bank Center with their first victory in the Texas Panhandle coming last season.
 
Last year's meeting saw the Hilltoppers shoot 53.3% (24-of-45) from the floor including 85.7% (30-of-35) from the free throw line with four different players in double-figures in a 84-71 victory over the Buffs in Canyon. Narit Chotikavanic led the way for WT going 8-of-19 from the field and 4-of-13 from behind the arc for a game-high 24 points with eight rebounds, seven assists and two steals.
 
WT HEAD COACH TOM BROWN
Tom Brown, now in his 12th season at the helm of the West Texas A&M men's basketball program, has built the Buffs into one of the elite NCAA Division II programs in the nation.  He has guided WT to nine consecutive NCAA Tournaments including the Buffs first-ever NCAA Division II National Championship game in 2021. 
 
Brown was hired as the 17th head coach in program history on April 16, 2014. In the past 10 seasons, Coach Brown and his staff are 277-65 (.810) and an average of 27 wins a season with appearances in the Sweet 16, Elite Eight, Final Four (2) and National Title game. During his time in Canyon, Brown is 297-78 (.792) overall and 158-44 (.782) in league action. 
 
LSC PRESEASON POLL
Defending Regional Champion Dallas Baptist claimed 42 of the possible 51 first place votes for a total of 850 points to sit atop of the poll followed by St. Mary's (two first place, 724), Lubbock Christian (four first place, 720), St. Edward's (669) and West Texas A&M (two first place, 654) to round out the top five.
 
Angelo State and Eastern New Mexico tied for sixth with 592 points followed by Midwestern State (558), UT Permian Basin (468), Texas A&M International (one first place, 350), Texas A&M-Kingsville (330), Cameron (301), Oklahoma Christian (266), UT Tyler (260), Western New Mexico (193), UT Dallas (188) and Sul Ross State (88).
 
NABC DIVISION II TOP-25 POLL
The Buffaloes are ranked 20th in this week's edition of the National Basketball Coaches Association (NABC) Division II Top-25 Poll announced on Tuesday afternoon. The South Central Region is represented by Lubbock Christian (6th), Black Hill State (11th), St. Edward's (17th), Eastern New Mexico (19th), West Texas A&M (20th), St. Mary's (23rd) and Dallas Baptist (RV).
 
LIVE COVERAGE 
The LSC and FloSports reached a historic agreement in August of 2024 for the largest streaming rights deal in NCAA Division II history. Fans have two different subscription options: $19.99 per month or $107.88 per year ($8.99/month). Additionally, those who use an .edu email address from an LSC member institution will be able to sign up at a discounted subscription price of $9.99 per month or $71.88 per year ($5.99/month).
 
LSC NEWS & NOTES
After an 11-day break, Lone Star Conference men's basketball games returned Jan. 2 and continued Jan. 4. Eastern New Mexico (12-1 overall) and DBU (11-4 overall) are the only teams without a league loss at 5-0. ENMU has won 12 games in a row, while DBU has prevailed in nine straight games. ENMU is nationally for the first time since the 1995-96 season.
 
No. 8 Lubbock Christian (14-2, 5-1 LSC) won a pair of road games against fellow nationally-ranked teams (No. 13 St. Edward's and No. 20 St. Mary's) to improve its winning streak to five games.
 
Western New Mexico (9-3, 3-2 LSC) upset No. 14 West Texas A&M 84-81 in overtime for its fourth straight win at the time. In non-conference play, LSC teams have gone 40-24 against Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference teams.