MBB: Confident Mavs head to Texas
11/30/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
UT Arlington (5-1) at Texas (2-3)
Tuesday | 7 p.m. | Austin (Erwin Center)
UTA Notes | UT Notes | KKGM 1630 AM | Longhorn Network | Live Stats
By Art Garcia | @ArtGarcia92
ARLINGTON, Texas - UT Arlington brings a four-game winning streak into what has become an annual showdown with the Texas Longhorns in Austin.
The Mavericks (5-1) and Longhorns (2-3) are meeting for the fifth consecutive season at the Erwin Center. Texas has won the 10 previous matchups in the all-time series, each coming in Austin.
Tipoff is set to tip at 7 p.m. Tuesday with a national television audience on The Longhorn Network. The Dallas-Fort Worth radio broadcast on flagship station KKGM 1630 begins at 6:45 p.m.
UTA is coming off a 92-74 win at Rice on Sunday to extend an unbeaten run stretching back to a 73-68 victory Nov. 20 at Ohio State. The streak also includes wins at Memphis (68-64) and Grambling State (73-40) at home.
"The credit goes to these guys," UT Arlington coach Scott Cross. "They're the ones that go out and do it. They've been making plays, playing with a lot of toughness, passion, energy and they've been playing together as a team. Because of that we have been able to experience a little bit of success."
Three Mavs set career highs in scoring at Rice: Kevin Hervey (27), Erick Neal (24) and Drew Charles (17). Hervey also tied career high with 15 rebounds. UTA shot season-best 57.1 percent, including 67.9 percent in the first half. Neal was a perfect 9-of-9 from the floor, including 3-3 on 3-pointers.
UTA is winning by an average 15.0 points (76.5-61.5) during the win streak and is ranked No. 20 in this week's Collegeinsider.com Mid-Major Top 25.
Knocking off the Longhorns in Austin is a tall task, but the Mavericks are a confident bunch two weeks into the season.
"We have to do what we've always done and that's play hard, play smart and have fun," said Hervey, the team leader in scoring (17.7) and rebounding (9.2). "As long as we do the principles that coach teaches us, I think we can beat everybody in the country."
