ARLINGTON – Looking to snap a season-high three-game Sun Belt Conference losing streak, the UT Arlington men's basketball team (12-15, 8-6 SBC) concludes its home weekend on Saturday at 2 p.m. when ULM (14-11, 7-6 SBC) visits the College Park Center.
 
FOLLOW ALONG
Tickets are still available and can be secured in advance by logging on to UTATickets.com by clicking this link. The contest will be broadcast on ESPN+ by clicking here, while the Voice of the Mavericks Josh Sours will have the call on the radio at KEXB 620 AM and streaming via the TuneIn App and iHeartRadio. Furthermore, for updates and behind-the-scenes photos and videos from not only this game, but all season, be sure to follow @UTA_MBB on Twitter and @UTA_Hoops on Instagram.

WHAT TO KNOW
Saturday is Military & First Responders Appreciation Day with those members receiving two free tickets by simply showing their ID at the gate. Additionally, the first 150 fans will receive a UTA Military Appreciation Shirt.
 
WHERE THINGS STAND
Despite the losing streak, UTA still resides in the top 4 of the Sun Belt standings with four regular-season games remaining. ULM went into San Marcos and defeated Texas State on Thursday evening, forcing a tie at the top of the league standings between the Bobcats and Georgia State at 10-4. Georgia Southern is in 3rd at 9-5, while UTA sits a half-game up on Louisiana and ULM both at 7-6.
 
If the season ended today, the Mavs' #4 seed in the conference tournament would give them a double-bye into the quarterfinals. The top-2 seeds receive byes all the way to the Sun Belt Tournament semifinals in New Orleans; the 3-4 seeds get byes to the quarterfinals and the 5-6 seeds automatically advance to the second round. Seeds 7-10 will play in opening-round games hosted on the campuses of the #7 and #8 seeds, with the winners of those contests advancing to New Orleans. The bottom-2 teams do not qualify for the tournament.
 
TWEETABLES – 5 Things To Know In 260 Characters Or Less
1) UTA lost to Louisiana last year as well, but rebounded from that setback to win its next five games – three regular-season contests and two tournament matchups – to reach the SBC Final; the Mavs will look to start another similar run on Saturday.
2) In its last two games, UTA has allowed opponents to make 11 (Arkansas State) and 12 (Louisiana) 3-pointers – the two highest totals from beyond the arc all year. It also marked the first time the Mavs have allowed consecutive opponents to shoot better than 40 percent from 3-point range (52.4; 41.4).
3) The Mavs still rank in the top 25 of the nation in 3-point percentage defense by holding opponents to 30.3 percent from beyond the arc this year; however, UTA was 8th in the country at 28.8 prior to its last two games (now rank 24th). ULM is 11th nationally in 3-point percentage at 39.4.
4) A pillar of consistency since joining the Sun Belt in 2013-14, this is only the third time in its history UTA has dropped three-straight league regular-season games. In 2016, the Mavs dropped four-straight SBC games – the longest streak in program history.
5) UTA has the following SBC and non-conference stat comparisons: 12.9 turnovers per game in conference play (15.9 in the non-conference), 14 assists per game (10.5 non-conference) and 39.3 rebounds per game (37.6 non-conference).
 
Bonus Tweet
Through UTA's first 27 games, head coach Chris Ogden has utilized 13 different starting lineups – the 2nd-most such starting 5 combinations in the nation to this point (UT Martin: 16). That includes the Mavericks having started the same five players for 10 games in a row.
 
MATCHUP BREAKDOWN
UTA ranks 2nd in the SBC by holding league opponents to just 68.6 points per game, but will once again have its work cut out as ULM comes in averaging 81 per contest in conference play. On Thursday, Louisiana scored 76 on the Mavs – which was six below its average for league action (82.1).
 
UTA also leads the league in conference field goal percentage defense (41.3), total assists (196), rebounds per game (39.3) and rebound margin (+4). That could be a key area for UTA as ULM has pulled down the 13th-fewest rebounds in the nation this year.
 
ULM leads the league in free throw percentage in conference games at an impressive 82.2 percent; for the year, the Warhawks rank 3rd in the nation in free throw shooting at 78.5 percent. ULM is extremely disciplined, having committed the 9th-fewest fouls in the nation and 12th-fewest turnovers.
 
UTA was picked 11th in the Sun Belt Preseason Poll, and its current 4th-place standing represents the largest increase (+7) among all 12 league members along with Texas State (8th to 1st). ULM, meanwhile, was picked to finish 4th in the preseason poll. Since joining the Sun Belt in 2013-14, UTA has won 64 league regular-season games, and is the only program to finish in the top 5 of the conference standings every year. Only Louisiana (68) and Georgia State (74) have more league wins in that time.
 
ABOUT ULM
ULM is coming off a big win at Texas State on Thursday night for its first conference road triumph (1-5) of the season.
 
Daishon Smith ranks 3rd in the conference in scoring at 21.4 per game, 7th in the country in free throw percentage (89.2) and 11th nationally with 3.6 3-pointers made per game.
 
Michael Ertel (15.2), Travis Munnings (13.6) and JD Williams (12.6) all average double-figure points for ULM along with Smith, with Munnings pulling down a team-leading 7.5 rebounds per game.
 
3-pointers have accounted for more than 37 percent of ULM's scoring on the year: 241 3-pointers (723 of 1,939 points).
 
ULM is 9-1 this year when holding opponent to 69 points or less. UTA is 11-2 this year when scoring at least 68 points.
 
LOCKING IN ON D
In 13 of UTA's first 14 SBC games, the Mavs have held a top-10 scorer in the conference below his season scoring average:
 
1) Ty Cockfield (ASU): 22 (16 & 27 vs. UTA)
4) JaKeenan Gant (LA): 20.6 (11)
5) Rayjon Tucker (LR): 20.1 (15 & 11)
6) D'Marcus Simonds (GSU): 18.9 (15 & 1)
7) Zac Cuthbertson (CCU): 18.5 (17 & 5)
8) Nigal Pearson (TXST): 18.1 (15)
9) Ronshad Shabazz (APP): 18 (16 & 15)
10) Tookie Brown (GS): 17.4 (4 & 11)
 
Additionally, UTA has held 12 of 14 SBC opponents below their conference scoring average.
 
Included in that stretch was UTA limiting two opponents (Coastal Carolina, 58; Arkansas State, 59) below 60 points – just the third time in program history the Mavs have held consecutive Sun Belt foes under 60 points.
 
The previous occurrences:
Jan. 18 & 23, 2014: Texas State (48), Troy (56)
Jan. 19 & 22, 2015: Texas State (55), ULM (57)
 
RE-TWEETS
1) Thursday marked the first time all year UTA's two leading scorers Brian Warren (14.3 per game) and Edric Dennis (14.1) were each held to single digits; Warren scored a season-low seven, while Dennis tallied eight.
2) UTA had its four-game home winning streak snapped on Thursday; those four victories had all come by double figures or nine points (average margin of victory: 12).
3) After winning its first nine games against Division-I opponents by just 66 total points, UTA has won its last two by 30 points: 20 versus Coastal Carolina and 10 opposite App State.
 
1,000 POINT MILESTONE
Dennis eclipsed the 1,000-career point mark at Little Rock last Thursday, and enters this Saturday's game with 1,017. The junior scored 272 points at Hill Junior College as a freshman, tallied 406 as a sophomore at Jackson State and has 339 with UTA this season. He is the second UTA player to reach the mark this year as Brian Warren did so at Gonzaga in December.
 
PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Following a pair of game-extending shots as part of a career-high scoring performance, Warren was named the league's Player of the Week on Feb. 4, sharing the honor with Coastal Carolina's Zac Cuthbertson.
 
Warren poured in a career-best 30 points, but it was eight key points which helped lead UTA to an impressive 84-77 double-overtime win at Texas State Saturday, silencing the largest crowd in Strahan Arena history. Warren forced overtime and double overtime with shots in the closing 20 seconds of each period, and then hit the go-ahead free throws in double overtime.
 
BATTLE TESTED
ESPN recently published an article detailing the toughest non-conference schedules in the country this year, of which UTA ranked the 7th-most difficult; click here to read the full article (note: ESPN+ subscription required).
 
At the time of the non-conference schedule concluding, UTA played an incredible seven Quadrant 1 (Home 1-30, Neutral 1-50, Away 1-75) non-league opponents, based on the NET report (NCAA's new RPI), and all seven of those came on the road – the most in the nation.
 
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.
5) UTA secured some solid early-season showings as the revamped Mavs 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.
6) Of the 1,827 points UTA has scored this year 1,766 (96.7 percent) are from players who did not play for the Mavs last season.
7) The 45 points UTA scored at Missouri on Dec. 4 were its fewest since tallying 44 at then-#1 Kentucky in 2014, and were tied for the 6th-fewest all-time in a road game.
8) UTA posted season highs in steals versus D-I opponents in consecutive December games: 10 at #8 Gonzaga and 12 at Cal Poly.
9) UTA's four non-conference wins are the fewest in a season since recording three during the 2002-03 campaign; however, that team went on to finish 16-13 overall after going 13-7 in Southland Conference action.
10) UTA shot a season-high 48.3 percent from the floor at Appalachian State, and followed it up with a season-best 11 3-pointers at Coastal Carolina, culminated by a Radshad Davis game-winning triple with 1.9 seconds remaining.
11) UTA has started 2-2 in Sun Belt play in four of the last five years, but went on to finish .500 or better in the conference each of those seasons – including last year's 10-8 mark and a regular-season championship 14-4 performance in 2016-17.
12) UTA shot 87.2 percent (34-39) from the free-throw line versus Little Rock – tied for the 5th-best percentage in single game program history (minimum 20 made). Dennis contributed 15 of those (15-17) – tied for the 9th-most makes in program history.
13) At Georgia State, UTA lost for the first time this year (now 11-2) when scoring at least 68 points. The Mavs erased a 16-point deficit to take the lead, took a four-point lead in the 2nd half, but couldn't hold on late.
14) UTA posted a +18 rebound margin (48-30) at Georgia State – its largest positive rebounding differential in a loss in any game since at least 2011-12. The Mavs pulled down a season-high 21 offensive boards.
15) UTA held Coastal Carolina to a season-low 22.6 percent from the floor on Feb. 7 in a 74-54 win – the Mavs' largest margin of victory against a Division-I opponent this year (previous: App State, 10). CCU came into the game averaging 79 points per game in SBC play.
16) Andres Ibarguen pulled down 15 rebounds – tied for the 2nd-most by any SBC player in a game this year – and added 12 points for the second double-double of his season against Coastal.
17) UTA shot a season-high 47.6 percent (10-21) from 3-point range versus Appalachian State on Feb. 9 It was just the second time this year the Mavs have made double-digit 3s in a game (11 at Coastal Carolina).
 
NEXT UP
UTA makes its final regular-season road trip when the Mavs travel to Alabama to face South Alabama (Thursday, Feb. 28) and Troy (Saturday, Mar. 2).
 
CLEAR BAG POLICY
In an effort to enhance public safety and the fan experience, for all UTA men's and women's home games this season the College Park Center will implement a clear-bag policy. All purses, containers, backpacks or anything larger than a small clutch bag are prohibited, and items must be placed in a clear tote bag not to exceed 12" x 6" x 12". For more information, fans are encouraged to visit UTAMavs.com/BasketballGameday.
 
FOLLOW ALONG
To secure tickets for upcoming games and find out about additional gameday procedures, log on to UTATickets.com. Additionally, for updates, behind-the-scenes photos, videos and more engaging and personal content, be sure to follow the men's basketball program on Twitter (@UTA_MBB) and Instagram (@UTA_Hoops).