West Texas A&M (19-10, 11-8) vs. UT Permian Basin (10-17, 6-13)
Date	Saturday, February 28 | 3:00 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 Buffs of West Texas A&M close out the regular season on Saturday afternoon as they welcome the UT Permian Basin Falcons to the First United Bank Center with tipoff set for 3:00 p.m. on Senior Day.
 
ANGELO STATE REWIND
West Texas A&M played in their fifth overtime contest of the season on Thursday evening as the Buffs fell in Lone Star Conference action to the Angelo State Rams, 76-68 at the First United Bank Center. Fontaine Williams led with 27 points, converting 11 free throws out of 14 attempts. Brock Mishak added 12 points and recorded five steals, contributing to the defensive effort. Nicholas Jett scored 12 points, making all four of his 3-point attempts.
 
SCOUTING THE FALCONS
The Falcons enter Saturday afternoon with an overall record of 10-17 with a 6-13 mark in Lone Star Conference action as they look to snap a two-game losing streak in the regular season finale. The Falcons are 3-8 on the road this season with victories at Oklahoma Christian, Cameron and Texas A&M International.
 
Thursday night saw the Falcons shoot 44.8% (26-of-58) from the floor including 95% (19-of-20) from the charity stripe but Eastern New Mexico outscored the Falcons 53-32 in the opening half on their way to a big 101-75 win. Tash Lunday led the way for UTPB, going 9-of-15 from the floor including 7-of-7 from the free throw line for a team-best 26 points with nine rebounds.
 
Lunday has been the go-to offensive weapon for the Falcons as the graduate student from Flandreau, South Dakota has gone 146-of-307 (47.6%) from the field including 21-of-51 (41.2%) from deep and 151-of-178 (84.8%) from the line to average 17.2 points per game to go along with 224 rebounds, 46 assists, 14 steals and seven blocks. The Mount Mary University transfer has reached double-figures 25 times with a season-high 29 points coming back on November 29th against MSU Denver in Pueblo, Colorado.
 
UTPB HEAD COACH KYLE TOLIN
Kyle Tolin is in his fifth season leading the UT Permian Basin men's basketball program. Tolin reached the Lone Star Conference Championship in his first season in Odessa in 2021-22 with an overall record of 16-13, the second most wins by a first year head coach in program history.
 
Tolin spent seven seasons at Arkansas-Monticello where he reached the NCAA Tournament twice and won a pair of regular-season GAC Championships. As a student-athlete at Oklahoma Baptist, Tolin scored over 1,00 points during his four-year career and was a two-time All-Conference honoree. 
 
THE SERIES
Saturday afternoon marks the 26th all-time meeting on the hardwood between the Buffaloes and Falcons in a series that dates back to 2002. UT Permian Basin is 0-15 all-time at the First United Bank Center.
 
Last year saw the Buffs and Falcons split their two matchups with the home team winning each contest, UTPB's victory in Odessa on January 11, 2025 snapped a 15-game win streak in the series by the Buffs before WT responded with a 68-54 win on February 6th in Canyon. Narit Chotikavanic went 10-of-17 in that contest to lead the way with 26 points followed by Mackenzie Morgan (13) and Noah Pagotto (12) also in double-figures.
 
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 reached the 300-win plateau with an 87-68 victory at Cameron on February 5, 2026.
 
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 284-72 (.798) 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 304-85 (.781) overall and 165-51 (.764) 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).
 
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).
 
NCAA SOUTH CENTRAL REGIONAL RANKINGS
The Buffaloes have been slotted seventh in the first ranked edition of the NCAA Division II Men's Basketball South Central Regional Rankings announced on Wednesday afternoon.
 
Lubbock Christian sits atop of the South Central Regional rankings followed by DBU, Eastern New Mexico, Western New Mexico, St. Edward's, Black Hills State, West Texas A&M, Colorado Mesa, Fort Lewis and St. Mary's
 
Last week's initial regional rankings were listed in alphabetical order following by a pair of ranked releases (February 25 & March 4). The 2026 Division II national tournament bracket is announced Sunday, March 8 via NCAA.com online selection show.
 
The South Central Regional Championships will take place on March 14-17 followed by the NCAA Division II Elite Eight beginning on March 25th at the UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania with the NCAD DII National Championship Game played on April 5 in Indianapolis, Indiana.