McNeese State (5-9, 0-3) vs. Abilene Christian (8-6, 3-0)
Moody Coliseum, Abilene, Texas; Wednesday, 8 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: Abilene Christian looks for its 10th straight conference win against McNeese State. Abilene Christian's last Southland loss came against the Southeastern Louisiana Lions 75-66 on Feb. 23, 2019. McNeese State fell short in a 79-69 game at Central Arkansas in its last outing.
STEPPING UP: Abilene Christian's Payten Ricks has averaged 13.4 points and 2.6 steals while Kolton Kohl has put up 10.5 points and 4.6 rebounds. For the Cowboys, Sha'markus Kennedy has averaged 15.4 points, 8.7 rebounds and 2.8 blocks while A.J. Lawson has put up 14.9 points.
RAMPING IT UP A NOTCH: The Wildcats have scored 76.7 points per game and allowed 64.7 points per game in conference play so far. Those are both noticeable improvements over the 71.1 points scored and 72.9 points allowed per game to non-conference foes.
CREATING OFFENSE: Lawson has either made or assisted on 41 percent of all McNeese State field goals over the last five games. Lawson has accounted for 34 field goals and 23 assists in those games.
WINLESS WHEN: The Wildcats are 0-5 when they score 69 points or fewer and 8-1 when they exceed 69 points. The Cowboys are 0-8 when allowing 75 or more points and 5-1 on the season, otherwise.
LONG-RANGE THREAT: McNeese State's Dru Kuxhausen has attempted 119 3-pointers and connected on 51.3 percent of them, and is 21 for 40 over his last five games.
DID YOU KNOW: The Abilene Christian defense has forced opponents into turnovers on an impressive 28.9 percent of all possessions, which is the second-highest rate in the country. McNeese State has turned the ball over on 23.7 percent of its possessions (ranked 342nd among Division I teams).
