ARLINGTON – Looking to move its record to 3-0 under 1st-year head coach Chris Ogden, the UT Arlington men's basketball team (2-0) resumes its season-opening homestand this weekend at the College Park Center when the Mavericks take on Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (2-1) on Friday, Nov. 16, at 7 p.m. before concluding the weekend with a 12 p.m. contest on Sunday, Nov. 18, versus UC Davis (0-3).
 
HARDWOOD SHOWCASE
The games are part of a multiple-team event (MTE) called the Hardwood Showcase, and features UTA, Indiana, Arkansas, Montana State, UC Davis and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. Each team will play – or already has played – four others from the group of six this month. Next week, UTA will head to Bloomington to face the Hoosiers before traveling to Fayetteville to take on the Razorbacks.
 
In addition to the UTA games at the CPC Friday and Sunday, UC Davis and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi will play each other at the arena on Saturday at 2 p.m. Admission is free.
 
FOLLOW ALONG
Tickets start at just $8 for Friday and Sunday, and can be purchased in advanced at UTATickets.com. All students are admitted free of charge with a valid ID through Gate 1.
 
The contest – like all UTA home games this year – will be streamed on ESPN+ with veteran play-by-plan man Ron Thulin and former TCU All-American Jada Butts on the call. Additionally, The Voice Of The Mavericks Josh Sours will have the call on the radio at KEXB 620 AM and via the TuneIn App and iHeartRadio. Furthermore, for updates and behind-the-scenes photos and videos all season, be sure to follow @UTA_MBB on Twitter and @UTA_Hoops on Instagram.
 
GARNERING ATTENTION
Following its early-season statement win over Northern Iowa last Saturday, UTA picked up 10 votes in the College Insider Mid-Major Poll this week. Joining the Mavericks in the poll is Sunday's opponent UC Davis as the Aggies have 6 votes.
 
TWEETABLES – 5 Things To Know In Less Than 260 Characters
1) This is the first time since 2007-08 and 2008-09 that UTA has posted consecutive 2-0 starts to a season. The Mavericks will be looking for their first 3-0 beginning to a campaign since 2011-12.
2) With a win over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, it would mark just the 6th time in the 60-year history of the program that UTA has started 3-0. Three of the first five occasions ended in either NCAA Tournament or NIT appearances.
3) If UTA were to start 4-0, it would be just the 3rd such start in program history (1992-93 and 2007-08). The 2007-08 team – UTA's only NCAA Tournament club – started a program-record 8-0.
4) Of UTA's now eight all-time head coaches, Ogden is just the 3rd to start his career 2-0 with the Mavericks. With a victory over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Ogden would join only Eddie McCarter in 1992-93 to start their UTA tenures 3-0. McCarter began 4-0 that year.
5) Of the 164 points UTA has scored through its first two games this year, 151 (92 percent) are from players who did not play for the Mavs last season.
 
INSIDE THE MATCHUPS
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi
The Islanders own a slight 7-6 edge in the all-time series with UTA. All 13 meetings stem from their time as Southland Conference members from 2007-12. The Mavericks have a 4-2 edge over the Islanders at home, and won both of the most recent meetings in 2012.
 
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi enters this weekend 2-1 overall with both of their victories coming over non-Division I opponents Howard Payne (the alma mater of UTA Associate Head Coach Greg Young) and Our Lady Of The Lake. The Islanders lost to UT Rio Grande Valley – which UTA will face on Dec. 1 – this past Monday, 76-69.
 
The Islanders are led by a quartet of double-figure scorers in Tony Lewis (11.3), Emmanuel Toney (11.3), Kareem South (11) and Irshaad Hunte (11). Lewis is nearly averaging a double-double through the first three games as he's corralled 27 rebounds to lead the team.
 
UC Davis
This will be the first-ever meeting between UC Davis and UTA. The Aggies are 0-3 to start the year, suffering a 76-42 loss against San Francisco, a 76-57 setback versus San Diego and an 81-58 defeat at Arkansas on Monday.
 
UC Davis has just one double-figure scorer at this point of the season in TJ Shorts II at 11 per game. He was named the 2018 Big West Conference Player and Newcomer of the Year. The Aggies are connecting at just an 18-percent rate from 3-point range entering the weekend (13-71), while UTA is limiting opponents to just 22.2 percent (12-54) through the first two games.
 
The Aggies return four starters from a team which went 22-11 overall last year and won the Big West Regular Season Championship. UC Davis played in the NIT and finished the season with an RPI of 101.
 
Located about 10 miles west of Sacramento, UC Davis has been impacted by the California wildfires as the campus was closed and classes were canceled multiple days this past week.
 
INSIDE THE UTA LINEUP
Redshirt junior Edric Dennis and redshirt freshman David Azore both lead the UTA offensive attack at 15.5 points per game, while junior Brian Warren is right behind at 15 per outing. Junior Radshad Davis rounds out the quartet of double-figure scorers at 11 per contest, while freshman Patrick Mwamba is averaging 9.5 points.
 
No player in the Sun Belt Conference who ranks in the top-20 in scoring has attempted fewer shots than Azore, who has efficiently tallied 31 points on just eight made field goals. That is due in large part of going 14-15 from the free-throw line (93.3 percent) to start the year.
 
Warren is shooting 52.6 percent (10-19) from the floor as a guard, while Mwamba ranks 2nd in the Sun Belt with 2.5 steals per game.
 
RE-TWEETS
1) UTA opened its season with a 90-66 win last Tuesday over UT Tyler – the Mavericks' fifth-straight season-opening win and 12th in the last 13 years. The 90 points were the second-most in a season opener for UTA since 1994 (99 vs. East Texas Baptist in 2011).
2) The Mavericks went 21-13 overall last year (10-8 in the Sun Belt), finishing 112th in the RPI and reaching the Sun Belt Tournament Final for the first time in their five years in the league.
3) UTA has posted three-straight 20-win seasons. In the 59-year history of the program, the Mavs have only had seven 20-win campaigns, and five of them have come in the last 10 years.
 
A WHOLE NEW CREW
UTA lost its top-9 scorers and only returns two letterwinners from last year's team (three total letterwinners; one did not play because of an injury in 2017-18), and just one of those two was a scholarship player (DJ Bryant). The Mavericks had eight seniors graduate and one junior who transferred which accounted for the top-9 scorers not returning in 2018-19.
 
UTA enters 2018-19 having lost its top-9 scorers from a season ago, but also welcome 12 talented, and in many cases experienced, newcomers. UTA returns just 3.2 percent of its points from a season ago – the lowest percentage of any team in the nation. The Mavericks also return only 4 percent of their rebounds and 11 percent of their assists from last year.
 
However, seven of those newcomers are junior transfers who have a proven record of success at the collegiate level previously. Those seven junior newcomers have combined to score 4,009 points, grab 1,788 rebounds and issue 749 assists over their first two years.
 
Least % of Points Returning From 2017-18
1) UT Arlington         3.2% (87 of 2,640)
2) Mount St. Mary's   4.4%
3) UNC Asheville       5.5%
4) Idaho                       6.9%
5) Oakland                  8.6%
6) Middle Tennessee  10.2%
7) Chattanooga           10.5%
8) Wichita State          12.1%
9) Duke                       13.8%
 
Least Career Points Returning (At Current School)
1) Mount St. Mary's   103
2) UT Arlington         130 (DJ Bryant: 85; Scott Muirhead: 41; Patrick Binzer: 4)
3) UNC Asheville       141
4) Chattanooga           241
5) Middle Tennessee  329
    Idaho                       329
 
Least Starts Returning From 2017-18
1) Idaho                       0
2) Mount St. Mary's   1
3) Wichita State          4
4) UNC Asheville       5
5) UT Arlington         7 (All DJ Bryant)
    Duke                       7
 
Fewest Returning Letterwinners
1 - Chattanooga
2 - UNC Asheville
2 - Drake
3 - UT Arlington
3 - Baylor
3 - Nicholls
3 - Duquesne
3 - Milwaukee
3 - Detroit Mercy
3 - Little Rock
 
Fewest Returning Minutes From 2017-18
1) Mount Saint Mary's           7%
2) UT Arlington                     7.9%
     UNC Asheville                  7.9%
4) Idaho                                   10.6%
5) Wichita State                      11.2%
6) Middle Tennessee               15.2%
7) Chattanooga                       15.24%
8) Oakland                              16.5%
9) Drake                                  17.4%
 
Teams With Zero Scholarship Seniors
Virginia
North Florida
UT Arlington
Duquesne
Cal State Northridge
 
ON THE RISE – 20-WIN SEASONS
UTA has posted seven 20-win seasons in its 59-year program history, but five of those have come in the last 10 years – including three in a row.
 
Year                Record            Postseason
2016-17           27-9                 NIT
2015-16           24-11               CIT
2011-12           24-9                 NIT
2017-18           21-13               ----
2007-08           21-12               NCAA
1990-91           20-9                 ----
1980-81           20-8                 NIT
 
MOST WINS IN TEXAS
Over the last 3+ seasons (2015-16, 2016-17, 2017-18, 2018-19), UTA owns the 2nd-most wins of the 23 Division-I schools in the state of Texas:
 
1) Stephen F. Austin: 76-29
2) UT Arlington: 74-33
    SMU: 74-27
4) Houston: 72-29
5) Baylor: 70-36
6) Texas A&M: 67-38
    Texas Tech: 67-37
8) Sam Houston State: 62-46
    Texas A&M-Corpus Christi: 62-39
10) TCU: 59-48
11) Texas Southern: 58-50
12) Texas State: 54-48
13) Texas: 53-50
14) Lamar: 50-50
15) UTEP: 46-53
16) Abilene Christian: 44-50
      Rice: 44-58
      North Texas: 44-60
19) Houston Baptist: 41-57
20) UTSA: 39-64
      Incarnate Word: 39-51
22) Prairie View A&M: 37-64
23) UTRGV: 36-63
 
NON-CONFERENCE STRENGTH
UTA will play a challenging non-conference schedule to prepare for the Sun Belt slate. Of its 12 D-I non-league opponents, nine had a .500 or better record last year, six participated in the postseason in 2017-18 and five finished in the top 100 of the RPI (not including UC Davis which finished at 101).
 
Marquee Games (2017-18 Record | RPI | Postseason | Misc)
WIN, 74-65 | Nov. 10 vs. Northern Iowa | 16-16
Nov. 18 vs. UC Davis | 22-11 | 101 | NIT | Big West Regular Season Champions
Nov. 20 @ Indiana | 16-15 | RV In 2018-19 Preseason Polls
Nov. 23 @ Arkansas | 23-12 | 34 | NCAA
Nov. 27 @ Tulsa | 19-12 | 89
Dec. 4 @ Missouri | 20-13 | 49 | NCAA | RV In 2018-19 Preseason Polls
Dec. 8 @ North Texas | 20-18 | CBI Champions
Dec. 18 @ Gonzaga | 32-5 | 22 | NCAA | Sweet Sixteen | #3 In 2018-19 Preseason Polls
Dec. 28 @ Texas | 19-15 | 52 | NCAA | RV In 2018-19 Preseason Polls
 
UTA's four 2018 NCAA Tournament opponents on its schedule puts the Mavericks in top-flight competition. The only teams in the nation who will play more than four teams which went to the NCAA Tournament last year in their 2018-19 non-conference schedule are: North Carolina (6), Florida (6), Kansas (5), Kentucky (5), Creighton (5), Northeastern (5) and Canisius (5).
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PLANT YOUR FLAG – 2018-19 UTA Men's Basketball Motto
"Plant Your Flag represents you being you. Being proud of where you came from and representing that – standing up for something. It doesn't matter what it is. Claim something. And then play for it."
– Chris Ogden
 
As part of that 'Plant Your Flag' motto, UTA's roster features a diverse collection of individuals from all over the world:
 
Teams With The Most Foreign-Born Players
10 – Saint Mary's
7 – Fairfield
6 – Bradley
5 – UT Arlington
5 – TCU
5 – Virginia
3 – Creighton
 
As part of the foreign-born players, below are the teams with the most continents represented on their roster:
5 – Maine
5 – Virginia
4 – UT Arlington
4 – Bradley
4 – Illinois-Chicago
4 – UNLV
4 – Oklahoma
4 – Portland
4 – Sacramento State
4 – Tulane
4 – Utah State
 
From NBA Academy Africa To UTA
NBA Academies, a network of elite basketball training centers around the world, include educational development for top male and female prospects from outside the U.S. and mark the NBA's signature elite player development initiative. The initiative exposes elite prospects to NBA-level coaching, facilities and competition and provides a global framework for them to maximize their success.
 
Five NBA Academy graduates have committed to D-I schools, in addition to UTA freshman Patrick Mwamba (NBA Academy Africa):

Three men from The NBA Global Academy in Canberra, Australia:
- Francisco Caffaro (Argentina): Virginia
- Jonathan Tchamwa Tchatchoua (Cameroon): UNLV
- Francisco Farabello (Argentina): TCU (for 2019-20 school year)

One woman from the NBA Academies Women's Program camp in Mexico City:
- Karla Martinez (Mexico): University of San Diego

SUN BELT SUCCESS
Since joining the Sun Belt Conference for the 2013-14 season, UTA has finished no worse than 5th place in the regular-season standings in the 12-team league. In 2016-17, the Mavericks won their first-ever SBC Regular Season Championship, and last season they were the preseason favorites to repeat. This year, UTA – due largely to its large roster turnover – was predicted to finish 11th in the SBC.
 
Sun Belt Strategic Men's Basketball Scheduling Plan
With the goal of improving the NCAA Tournament seeding for the Sun Belt's automatic qualifier, in addition to enhancing the resume of other teams to secure at-large berths, the following changes have been implemented beginning in the 2019-20 season:
 
Sun Belt teams will reserve two dates in the non-conference portion of their schedule to play against peer conference opponents. Each team will have one home opponent and one away opponent from this scheduling alliance.
 
In the next major portion of the strategic plan is centered around a 20-game smart schedule. The conference will split into two divisions (East: Appalachian State, Coastal Carolina, Georgia Southern, Georgia State, South Alabama and Troy; West: Little Rock, Arkansas State, Louisiana, ULM, UTA and Texas State). Each team will play a 16-game schedule with five home and five away games played against divisional opponents and three home and three away games against non-divisional opponents.  Based on the resulting standings of those 16 games, teams will then be placed in four pods - Pod A (#1, #2, #3), Pod B (#4, #5, #6), Pod C (#7, #8, #9) and Pod D (#10, #11, #12). Each team will play the other two pod members once home and once away for the final four games of the 20-game schedule. The regular season conference champion will be awarded based on the results of the full 20-game conference schedule.
 
NEXT UP
Following the contests with Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and UC Davis, UTA heads out on a week-long Thanksgiving trip to face Indiana (Nov. 20) and Arkansas (Nov. 23).