FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The UT Arlington men's basketball team (3-2) concludes its week-long Thanksgiving road trip Friday at 7 p.m. when the Mavericks face off against Arkansas (3-1) at Bud Walton Arena in a game televised on SEC Network+ and streaming on the ESPN app.
 
OPENING TIP
UTA is coming off a hard-fought comeback attempt at Indiana on Tuesday night, while Arkansas easily dispatched of Montana State, 90-68, at home on Wednesday evening. The contest will be UTA's fourth in eight days, and first of four non-conference opponents for the Mavericks which played in the NCAA Tournament last year.
 
FOLLOW ALONG
The game will be broadcast on SEC Network+ with Benjamin Kelly and Manny Watkins on the call. For those who have the SEC Network Alternate channel(s), the game will likely be available in your area on one of those channels; if not, fans can stream the contest online just like a normal ESPN+ game by clicking this link. 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.
 
HARDWOOD SHOWCASE
The matchup is part of a multiple-team event (MTE) called the Hardwood Showcase, and features UTA, Arkansas, Indiana, 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, with the matchup in Fayetteville on Friday night representing the final contest of the showcase for both UTA and Arkansas.
 
START OF A TOUGH STRETCH
Arkansas will be the second-straight opponent for UTA which is receiving votes in the national polls; Indiana is the second team out of the top-25 this week. The contest with the Razorbacks starts a challenging stretch for the revamped Mavs, as five of UTA's next nine opponents played in the NCAA Tournament last year: Arkansas, Missouri (Dec. 4), #3 Gonzaga (Dec. 18), rv Texas (Dec. 28) and Georgia State (Jan. 3). Including North Texas – the reigning College Basketball Invitational Champions who are off to a 7-0 start this year – six of UTA's next nine opponents played in the postseason in 2018.
 
TWEETABLES – 5 Things To Know In Less Than 260 Characters
1) UTA is 1-13 all-time against current SEC members, with the lone victory coming at Texas A&M, 77-75, on Dec. 7, 1970. The Mavs will play two SEC members in the next 12 days as they face Missouri on Dec. 4.
2) After getting down 20 points early in the 2nd half Tuesday at Indiana, UTA cut the IU lead to just one, 61-60, with six minutes remaining before the Hoosiers closed on a 17-4 run for a 78-64 win.
3) That performance was another solid early-season showing for the revamped Mavs as they already own victories over perennially-strong mid-major Northern Iowa and a UC Davis team which returns four starters from a Big West Regular Season Championship and NIT appearance.
4) UTA ranks in the top-20 in the nation early in the season in free-throw percentage (19th, 78.4) and defensive 3-point percentage (18th, 23.6).
5) Of the 363 points UTA has scored through its first five games this year, 330 (91 percent) are from players who did not play for the Mavs last season.
 
ABOUT THE RAZORBACKS
Arkansas opened its season with a two-point overtime loss against Texas, 73-71, in El Paso at Fort Bliss. Since then the Razorbacks have defeated UC Davis, 81-58, Indiana on a last-second free throw, 73-72, and Montana State.
 
Daniel Gafford leads a balanced Arkansas scoring attack at 18.8 points per game and a team-leading 8.8 rebounds per outing. Mason Jones (15.3), Isaiah Joe (13.5) and Adrio Bailey (10.5) round out the quartet of double-figure scorers.
 
The Razorbacks do a lot of their damage in the paint as they have outscored their opponents by a +46 margin through the first four games, including a +30 edge, 46-16, against Montana State.
 
UTA BIO BLASTS
0 Brian Warren: The only UTA player who has reached double-figure points in every game. The Indianapolis native had more than 30 friends and family in attendance in Bloomington for the IU game.
2 DJ Bryant: Recorded a career-high five steals at Indiana – nearly an eighth of the junior's 43 career thefts.
13 Jabari Narcis: All seven of his points and six of his seven rebounds at Indiana came in the 2nd half. It's his most points and rebounds versus a Division-I opponent.
23 Patrick Mwamba: Remains day-to-day with an ankle injury. He has 21 points, seven rebounds and five steals in just 40 minutes played this year.
 
ODE TO BOBBY
Chris Ogden coached his first-ever road game Tuesday at Assembly Hall, and as an ode to former legendary Indiana head coach Bobby Knight and the several connections the two have, Ogden wore a UTA-themed sweater on the sidelines. Ogden attended Knight's camp at IU when he was in 6th grade; his brother, Tanner, played for Knight at Texas Tech; Ogden and Knight's son, Pat, are extremely close friends.
 
KD SHOWS SUPPORT
Kevin Durant sat courtside next to the UTA bench this past Friday at the College Park Center to watch the Mavericks take on Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. Durant – a nine-time NBA All-Star, 2014 NBA MVP and two-time NBA Champion with the Golden State Warriors – is close friends with Ogden dating back to their time at Texas. Ogden, who led the Longhorns to the 2003 Final Four as a captain, was an administrative assistant on the 2007-08 Texas squad – Durant's lone collegiate season with Texas.
 
RE-TWEETS
1) UTA opened its season with a 90-66 win on Nov. 6 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) UTA started the year 3-1; four of the five times this decade that the Mavericks have commenced a season 3-1 it has resulted in a postseason and/or 20-win campaign.
3) 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.
4) 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 welcomed 12 talented, and in many cases experienced, newcomers at the start of the season. 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 (entering games on Nov. 22):
 
1) Stephen F. Austin: 77-29
2) UT Arlington: 75-35
    SMU: 75-29
4) Houston: 73-29
5) Baylor: 71-36
6) Texas Tech: 69-37
7) Texas A&M: 67-41
8) Texas A&M-Corpus Christi: 64-40
9) Sam Houston State: 63-48
10) TCU: 60-49
11) Texas Southern: 58-51
12) Texas State: 55-49
      Texas: 55-50
14) Lamar: 52-50
15) UTEP: 47-53
16) North Texas: 46-60
17) Abilene Christian: 45-50
      Rice: 45-59
19) Houston Baptist: 41-58
20) Incarnate Word: 40-54
      UTSA: 40-66
22) Prairie View A&M: 37-67
23) UTRGV: 36-65
 
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
WIN, 68-59 | Nov. 18 vs. UC Davis | 22-11 | 101 | NIT | Big West Regular Season Champions
LOSS, 78-64 | Nov. 20 @ Indiana | 16-15 | RV In National 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 National Polls
Dec. 28 @ Texas | 19-15 | 52 | NCAA | RV In National 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
UTA will return home for a couple of days before heading back out on the road when the Mavericks travel to take on Tulsa next Tuesday, Nov. 27, at 7 p.m.