Texas State is looking to rebound after a loss at Arkansas State when they take on UTA in Arlington Thursday night at 7pm.
Thursday Schedule
Arkansas State @ App State (-3.5) - 5:30pm
Little Rock @ Coastal Carolina (-10.5) - 6pm
Georgia Southern @ ULM (-1) - 6:30pm
Texas State (-3.5) @ UTA - 7pm
Georgia State @ Louisiana (-2) - 7pm
Troy @ South Alabama (-6.5)- 7pm
Conference Standings
1. Arkansas State 4-1
2. App State 6-2
3. South Alabama/Troy 4-2
5. Texas State 3-2
6. Louisiana 4-3
7. UTA 4-4
8. Coastal Carolina 3-4
9. ULM 2-6
10. Georgia Southern 1-5
* under 80% threshold*
11. Little Rock 2-2
12. Georgia State 0-4
NET Rankings
120. South Alabama (+8)
125. Texas State (-8)
139. Arkansas State (+9)
146. Coastal Carolina (+7)
159. App State (+23)
168. Louisiana (+9)
170. Troy (-14)
230. Georgia Southern (-13)
235. UTA (-6)
262. ULM (-12)
268. Georgia State (-2)
303. Little Rock (+3)
TXST News
UTA is 8-11 overall and 4-4 in SBC play. They probably played a collectively tougher non-conference schedule than we did (though they didn't play anyone as good as Houston or LSU) and lost to every top 100 team they played. Their best win is probably in conference play vs. South Alabama. Another nice win was on the road at UCSB. They were off to a decent start really if you look at their results but the last couple weeks they've been losing some bad games. They've lost 4 of their last 5 and 3 of those losses are probably their 3 worst losses of the season (@ Georgia Southern, vs. ULM at home, and @ Little Rock).
UTA went 13-13 overall last year and 9-8 in SBC play, finishing 3rd in the West. They were picked in a tie for 9th in this year's preseason poll, so some regression was expected.
By far and away the best player on this Mavericks roster is 6'4" 5th-year Sr. G David Azore. Despite missing half of last year with an injury Azore was still named a preseason 2nd-team all-SBC selection this year and is the conference's leading scorer at 18.5 PPG. He plays the 2nd most minutes of anyone in the league per game (33.6 MPG) and is 4th in the league in FT% (82.9%). That's of some significance as he gets to the line with far more frequency than anyone in the league. Azore can shoot from 3 a bit, but he's much more of a slasher that tries to get to the rim to score and draw fouls. His 97 made FTs on the season is 20 better than the 2nd most. Azore is coming off a 37 point game, albeit in a loss, at Little Rock.
6'7" So. Patrick Mwamba from the Congo is the only other player averaging over double figures at 10.3 PPG. 5'11" UTRGV Grad transfer PG Javon Levi doesn't score much (6 PPG) but is 3rd in the SBC in assists (4.9 APG) and 4th in steals (1.6 SPG). AT UTRGV he was on the WAC all-defensive team his final 3 years, was WAC defensive player of the year 2 of those years, and was on the defensive all-American team once. The Mavs also have the league's top shot blocker in 6'9" So. F Kaodirichi Akobundu-Ehiogu from Nigeria who is averaging 2.6 BPG this year after leading the league last year also at 3.2 BPG.
UTA has the 2nd worst scoring offense in the league at just 68.9 PPG, TXST's record is something ridiculously good when holding opponents under 70 points so if we hold them at their average we should be in pretty good shape tonight. The Mavs -1.6 scoring margin is also 2nd worst in the league. This is also a matchup of the league's best 3-point shooting team (TXST at 36.5%) against the league's worst (UTA at 30.5%). UTA also has the worst turnover margin in the league at -1.74. They played a tougher non-conference schedule than most other team's in the league, but still their team stats are pretty poor on the season.
Last Meeting/Series History
Texas State won both meetings last year, 63-56 in Arlington and 79-68 in San Marcos. Mason Harrell had 19 points and 7 assists in the win in Arlington and Isiah Small and Caleb Asberry each had 20+ in the win in San Marcos. TXST has won the last 3 in the series but still trails UTA 36-40 all-time. UTA also holds a 22-13 record vs. the Bobcats in Arlington.
Betting Odds
Texas State opened as a 2-point road favorite yesterday and that has since moved to 3.5.
UTA Message Board
Their board is dead:
Thursday Schedule
Arkansas State @ App State (-3.5) - 5:30pm
Little Rock @ Coastal Carolina (-10.5) - 6pm
Georgia Southern @ ULM (-1) - 6:30pm
Texas State (-3.5) @ UTA - 7pm
Georgia State @ Louisiana (-2) - 7pm
Troy @ South Alabama (-6.5)- 7pm
Conference Standings
1. Arkansas State 4-1
2. App State 6-2
3. South Alabama/Troy 4-2
5. Texas State 3-2
6. Louisiana 4-3
7. UTA 4-4
8. Coastal Carolina 3-4
9. ULM 2-6
10. Georgia Southern 1-5
* under 80% threshold*
11. Little Rock 2-2
12. Georgia State 0-4
NET Rankings
120. South Alabama (+8)
125. Texas State (-8)
139. Arkansas State (+9)
146. Coastal Carolina (+7)
159. App State (+23)
168. Louisiana (+9)
170. Troy (-14)
230. Georgia Southern (-13)
235. UTA (-6)
262. ULM (-12)
268. Georgia State (-2)
303. Little Rock (+3)
TXST News
- Texas State is coming off a 67-60 loss at Arkansas State in which the Bobcats may have played one of their worst games of the season. The loss dropped TXST to 12-5 overall and 3-2 in SBC games, dropping the Cats from a tie for 2nd in the league to 5th.
- Injury Report:
- Starting SG Caleb Asberry, who is TXST's leading scorer this year, left the A-State game in the 2nd half with a knee injury after colliding with another player on a screen. Unsure of his status for this game, but clearly a less than 100% Asberry would be bad news for the Bobcats.
- After this Thursday's game at UTA, the teams switch home courts and TXST hosts the Mavericks Saturday in Strahan. The AD is pushing for attendance finally this game with a blackout. Hopefully this team finally gets a decent turnout this year as attendance is seemingly down:
UTA is 8-11 overall and 4-4 in SBC play. They probably played a collectively tougher non-conference schedule than we did (though they didn't play anyone as good as Houston or LSU) and lost to every top 100 team they played. Their best win is probably in conference play vs. South Alabama. Another nice win was on the road at UCSB. They were off to a decent start really if you look at their results but the last couple weeks they've been losing some bad games. They've lost 4 of their last 5 and 3 of those losses are probably their 3 worst losses of the season (@ Georgia Southern, vs. ULM at home, and @ Little Rock).
UTA went 13-13 overall last year and 9-8 in SBC play, finishing 3rd in the West. They were picked in a tie for 9th in this year's preseason poll, so some regression was expected.
By far and away the best player on this Mavericks roster is 6'4" 5th-year Sr. G David Azore. Despite missing half of last year with an injury Azore was still named a preseason 2nd-team all-SBC selection this year and is the conference's leading scorer at 18.5 PPG. He plays the 2nd most minutes of anyone in the league per game (33.6 MPG) and is 4th in the league in FT% (82.9%). That's of some significance as he gets to the line with far more frequency than anyone in the league. Azore can shoot from 3 a bit, but he's much more of a slasher that tries to get to the rim to score and draw fouls. His 97 made FTs on the season is 20 better than the 2nd most. Azore is coming off a 37 point game, albeit in a loss, at Little Rock.
6'7" So. Patrick Mwamba from the Congo is the only other player averaging over double figures at 10.3 PPG. 5'11" UTRGV Grad transfer PG Javon Levi doesn't score much (6 PPG) but is 3rd in the SBC in assists (4.9 APG) and 4th in steals (1.6 SPG). AT UTRGV he was on the WAC all-defensive team his final 3 years, was WAC defensive player of the year 2 of those years, and was on the defensive all-American team once. The Mavs also have the league's top shot blocker in 6'9" So. F Kaodirichi Akobundu-Ehiogu from Nigeria who is averaging 2.6 BPG this year after leading the league last year also at 3.2 BPG.
UTA has the 2nd worst scoring offense in the league at just 68.9 PPG, TXST's record is something ridiculously good when holding opponents under 70 points so if we hold them at their average we should be in pretty good shape tonight. The Mavs -1.6 scoring margin is also 2nd worst in the league. This is also a matchup of the league's best 3-point shooting team (TXST at 36.5%) against the league's worst (UTA at 30.5%). UTA also has the worst turnover margin in the league at -1.74. They played a tougher non-conference schedule than most other team's in the league, but still their team stats are pretty poor on the season.
Last Meeting/Series History
Texas State won both meetings last year, 63-56 in Arlington and 79-68 in San Marcos. Mason Harrell had 19 points and 7 assists in the win in Arlington and Isiah Small and Caleb Asberry each had 20+ in the win in San Marcos. TXST has won the last 3 in the series but still trails UTA 36-40 all-time. UTA also holds a 22-13 record vs. the Bobcats in Arlington.
Betting Odds
Texas State opened as a 2-point road favorite yesterday and that has since moved to 3.5.
UTA Message Board
Their board is dead:
